Pendleton

A tradition of American craftsmanship started by one family over 100 years ago. In 1863 a young English weaver named Thomas Kay had a vision of raising his own sheep and producing his own wool in America. With no suitable land of his own, Kay set sail down the Atlantic seaboard and up the Pacific coast in search of the ideal location. After four-months at sea, Kay stopped in America’s newest state, Oregon. Upon settling, Kay built his own family-operated mill, teaching and eventually passing on the business to his eldest daughter Fannie.


From the creation of Pendleton’s first woolen mill in 1893, to establishing trade connections with America’s Indigenous communities, Fannie helped build upon her father’s legacy. As her father did for her, Fannie passed on the family tradition to her three sons in 1898. Less than a year later, a new wool finishing department was operational and the first finished wool products were traded, thus setting the foundation for Pendleton Woolen Mills. Today, the tradition of wool and textile innovation established by Thomas Kay and his family underlies all Pendleton products.

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