Pendleton is a family-owned company established in 1863 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more than 100 years, they’ve been weaving world-class woollens in their two Pacific Northwest mills. The history of Pendleton Woollen Mills is one of opportunity, exploration and innovation. British weaver Thomas Kay laid the foundation when he arrived in Oregon in 1863. His expertise lives on in Pendleton's tweed, flannel and worsted wool apparel. Kay's grandsons, the three Bishop brothers, opened Pendleton Woollen Mills in the early 1900s. They joined Kay's weaving skills with stunning designs in the Pendleton Trade blanket, a benchmark for beauty and quality for over 100 years. Family-owned and operated for more than six generations, the uniquely American story of Pendleton Woollen Mills continues today.

A major railhead serving the Columbia Plateau, the town of Pendleton was a wool shipping centre for sheep growers of the region. The mill, originally built in 1893, began as a wool scouring plant, which washed raw wool before shipping. Due to increased freight tariffs on the shipment of scoured wool, the business soon became unprofitable. In 1895, the scouring plant was enlarged and converted into a woollen mill which made bed blankets and robes for Native Americans. This venture also failed and the mill went idle. In 1909, the Bishops opened the facility and constructed a new, more efficient mill with aid of a local bond issue. In September of that year, the first products emerged from the new finishing department and the tradition of Pendleton Woollen Mills began.

Pendleton has thrived under the direction of the Bishop family. Today the company owns and operates 5 facilities, manages 50 Pendleton retail and outlet stores, and publishes apparel and home direct mail catalogs.  This family thread has continued to produce Pendleton leadership with a legacy of hands-on management for six generations – "Warranted To Be A Pendleton." Along with fine wool blankets, apparel and accessories, we also offer an array of other luxury fabrics, all, backed by our "Warranted to be a Pendleton" assurance of quality.