HARPERS FERRY, WV - Matthew Knott is a natural-born entrepreneur who has spent his entire life in Jefferson County. He was born into a farm family in Kearneysville, and began working at River Riders in Harpers Ferry while attending college at Shepherd University. Shortly after college he became the owner, and grew the business from 10 employees to 156 employees.

Knott is someone who found his niche, the place where he belongs, and has a strong vison of where he wants it to go. He is also someone with an incredible degree of creative thinking, intuition, attention to detail and tireless devotion towards building his vision.

In addition to building River Riders Family Adventure Resort to what it is today, Knott acquired the adjacent hotel property moving his company into a new era of full-service amenities. But he was smart about it and waited out the overpriced real estate market for 15 years until the price was right.

Knott installed the state’s second largest solar energy system that produces enough to offset an estimated $10,000 in electricity costs.

The U.S. Small Business Administration assisted Knott with his venture through counseling services offered through their resource partner the West Virginia Small Business Development Center.