Pendleton blankets are top quality in every way and oh so soft and beautiful. When you snuggle under a Pendleton product, you can see and feel the quality. Using 100% pure virgin wool, these blankets are lightweight yet soft and warm.

For over 140 years this family-owned business has been producing products in the Northwest; for the past 96 years, Pendleton has been known for weaving world class wool. The Pendleton blanket comes from a long tradition.

In 1863, Thomas Kay, a young English weaver made a four-month trip down the Atlantic seaboard, through the Isthmus of Panama by burro and up the Pacific coast by sailing vessel. He was headed to a place where the conditions for raising the best wool-producing sheep were just right ? Oregon. The moderate weather and ready supply of water were perfect for obtaining the best wool available in the emerging Northwest of America.

Thomas Kay organized a second woolen mill in the Oregon town of Brownsville, where he supervised the weaving operation and later became supervisor of the company. In 1889, he chose Salem, Oregon to open a mill of his own. His story is truly a story of the American dream come true.

Thomas Kay's oldest daughter, Fannie, assisted her father and learned every aspect of the mill operation. She married C.P. Bishop who was an expert with merchandising and manufacturing, firming a solid foundation for what was to become Pendleton Woolen Mills. Their three sons grew into this heritage and, in 1909, with the support of the family and town, the Bishop sons restarted an idle mill in Pendleton, Oregon. Located at a major railhead, the town was a wool center for the sheep growers in the region. The Bishops constructed a more efficient mill building and in September of 1909, the first products left the finishing department. This is the saga of the tradition of quality that is available only from Pendleton.

Pendleton produced quality Indian blankets using the distinctive designs and colors of the Southwest Native Americans. These vivid colors and intricate patterns included in the blankets made by Pendleton became sought after. Trade included the Nez Perce nation, expanding to include the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni nations.

Used as wearing apparel, the Pendleton made blankets became the standard for trading among the Native Americans and they were highly prized for tribal ceremonial use. Today, these ceremonial blankets by Pendleton are highly coveted collector's items.

Pendleton thrives today and the Bishop family still directs the operations. There are now eight facilities and many Pendleton stores. Even today, Native American designs are created in blankets woven by Pendleton but many other beautiful, soft and cozy blankets are also part of the Pendleton line. Anyone who owns a Pendleton made blanket is proud of their fine blanket, whether it be a vintage collector's item or a new blanket with modern styling. Let's look at some of a blankets made today by the renowned Pendleton factories more closely.

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