Misplaced Pages

#420579

26-527: The Center was created in 2010 from the merger of the Mission Mill Museum Association (est. 1964) and the adjacent Marion County Historical Society (est. 1950). The Thomas Kay Woolen Mill was started in 1889 by Thomas Lister Kay, whose descendants eventually founded Pendleton Woolen Mills . The workforce of 50 labored 60-hour weeks. In 1895, a fire destroyed the mill. Ground was broken on a new mill structure on December 20, 1895, in

52-530: A special exhibit about early Oregon during the time of the Methodist Mission . The museum includes a water power interpretive exhibit by Portland General Electric . The exhibit demonstrates how the mill was run using the water from Mill Creek . Pendleton Woolen Mills Pendleton Woolen Mills is an American textile manufacturing company based in Portland , Oregon , United States . It

78-588: Is known for its blankets and woolen clothing. The company's roots began in 1863 when Thomas Lister Kay made a transcontinental trek to the west coast and began working in Oregon's woolen mills . He went on to open his own woolen mill, the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem, Oregon . Kay was an immigrant from England and a weaver by trade. He had worked in various textile mills on the east coast of

104-633: Is the only woolen mill museum west of Missouri and has one of the few water-powered turbines in the Pacific Northwest that still generates electricity from a millrace . The mill is now run as the Willamette Heritage Center. Umatilla (tribe) The Umatilla are a Sahaptin -speaking Native American tribe who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States , along

130-572: The Penutian language family — closely related to other peoples of today's Eastern Oregon , Eastern Washington , and the Idaho panhandle . These included the Nez Percé ( Šíwaniš - "Stranger"), Cayuse ( Wáylatpu / Wáylatpuuma - "Ryegrass People, i.e. Cayuse People"), Walla Walla ( Walawalałáma - "People of Walula region along Walla Walla River"), Palouse ( Paluuspamá - "People of Palus") and

156-555: The Umatilla and Columbia rivers. The Umatilla people are called Imatalamłáma , a Umatilla person is called Imatalamłá (with orthographic ł representing IPA /ɬ/ ). Some sources say that Umatilla is derived from imatilám-hlama : hlama means 'those living at' or 'people of' and there is an ongoing debate about the meaning of imatilám , but it is said to be an island in the Columbia River. B. Rigsby and N. Rude mention

182-528: The Yakima ( Mamačatłáma - "Yakama People"). These peoples were ravaged by smallpox and other infectious diseases contracted from European colonists during the first half of the 19th century. In 1855 the inland Sahaptin-speaking nations were forced to surrender their historic homelands under treaty to the United States government , in exchange for territorial set-asides on reservations . Today

208-744: The 1990s. As of 2019, the company is privately held and under the management by the 5th generation heirs of Thomas Kay. John Bishop, great-great-grandson of Thomas Kay, is president and CEO. Great-great-grandson Peter Bishop is the Executive VP of Merchandising and Design. The company operates seven facilities and 41 retail stores. Pendleton products are sold in the United States, Canada, Australia , Europe, Japan , and Korea . The company headquarters are in Portland, Oregon. The original mills in Pendleton , Oregon, and Washougal , Washington, are among

234-556: The Bishop enterprises in the combination of manufacturing and retail sales. The Bishops passed their expertise and knowledge to their three sons: Clarence, Roy, and (Robert) Chauncey. In 1909 the family reopened the defunct Pendleton Woolen Mills. The town of Pendleton, Oregon backed the family in their new business venture and the Bishops’ company also took over the name Pendleton Woolen Mills. The move to eastern Oregon made sense for

260-475: The Bishops had been built in 1893 and had been a wool scouring plant, where raw wool was scrubbed and packed before shipping out to the textile mills . In 1895 it was enlarged and converted into a textile mill that, by the following year, had begun making Native American trade blankets—geometric patterned robes (unfringed blankets) for Native American men and shawls (fringed blankets) for Native American women in

286-591: The Palouse, Wasco-Wishrams ( Wasq̓ułáma - "People of Wasq̓ú"; Wɨ́šx̣amma - "People of Wɨ́šx̣aa/Wɨ́šx̣am (Spearfish)"). They had friendly Cayuse, and Walla Walla tribes to the east. Because their homeland lacked natural defenses, the Umatillas were attacked from the south by groups of Bannocks and Paiutes . Linguistically, the Umatilla language or Imatalamłaamí Sɨ́nwit is part of the Sahaptin division of

SECTION 10

#1732772615421

312-513: The US military services. In 1949, after postwar market research showed a desire for women's sportswear, the company introduced a line of wool clothing for women and the '49er jacket proved extremely popular. The reversible pleated "Turnabout Skirt" was also very popular, literally two-skirts-in-one. In 1960, a little-known singing group known as the Pendletones was formed, taking their name from

338-856: The Umatilla share land and a governmental structure with the Cayuse and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the federally recognized Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation . Their reservation is located near Pendleton, Oregon and the Blue Mountains . A number of places and geographic features have been named after the tribe, such as the Umatilla River , Umatilla County , the town of Umatilla, Florida, and Umatilla National Forest . The impoundment of

364-430: The United States. Before opening his own mill in Salem , he helped to set up only the second mill in Oregon at Brownsville . Kay brought his oldest daughter, Martha Ann "Fannie" Kay, into the business and after learning the operation and management of the mill, she became her father's assistant. In 1876 Fannie married retail merchant C.P. (Charles Pleasant) Bishop. This proved to be a great benefit to Kay's company and to

390-497: The area—the Umatilla , Cayuse , Nez Perce and Walla Walla tribes. That business eventually failed and the plant stood idle until the Bishop family, spurred by Fannie Kay Bishop, purchased it. When the Bishops' assumed ownership, they built a new mill with the help of the town of Pendleton, which issued bonds for the mill's construction. The family resumed the production of Jacquard blankets and introduced new designs, colors, and patterns to their product line. They also changed

416-510: The business because eastern Oregon was sheep country and having wool producers near the mills allowed the mills to significantly cut production costs. The town of Pendleton is a major railhead for the Columbia River Plateau and allowed convenient shipping for the growing business. Pendleton photographer Walter S. Bowman captured early 20th century images of the mill's interior, exterior and its workers. The mill owned by

442-473: The classic Pendleton wool plaid shirt. This group later changed their name to The Beach Boys and the Pendleton shirt became popular among American youth. In 1972 the company again expanded its product line with the introduction of non-wool garments for men and women. Many customers had a desire for the classic Pendleton style for 'year round wear, but wanted lighter clothing for spring and summer wear. Again

468-573: The company began producing men's woolen sport shirts and by 1929 the company was producing a full line of woolen sportswear. The second Bishop son, Roy, had left the company in 1918 to form his own company, the Oregon Worsted Company. The third son, Chauncey, died in 1927. This left C.M. with the sole responsibility for management of both woolen mills. During World War II , 1941–45, Pendleton Woolen Mills devoted most of its production to blankets and fabric for uniforms and clothing for

494-574: The company opened a weaving mill in Washougal, Washington (across the Columbia River from Portland) for the production of woolen fabrics used in suits and other clothing. One of the original three Bishop sons, Clarence Morton Bishop—usually known as “C.M.”—started a new product line of men's woolen sport shirts in bright colors and patterns. Prior to that time woolen shirts had been considered work shirts and came in mostly dull colors. In 1924

520-540: The construction of the mill's blankets. Prior to 1909 the blankets had round corners. The Bishop blankets featured square corners. Pendleton round corner blankets are highly coveted by vintage Pendleton blanket collectors. The company expanded their trade from the local indigenous tribes of the Columbia River area to the Navajo , Hopi , and Zuni peoples of the American Southwest . To do this, they enlisted

546-503: The few woolen mills in operation in the United States today, and Pendleton woolen fabrics and blankets are still woven in these Pacific Northwest mills. The original Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem was operated by the Kay family, until it was closed in 1962. The mill was later purchased by the Mission Mill Museum Association, a private, non-profit organization formed in 1964. Mission Mill Museum

SECTION 20

#1732772615421

572-533: The help of designer Joe Rawnsley, who visited tribes to learn their customs and color preferences. Like many other mills of the day, Pendleton also emulated the multicolor patterns of candy-stripe blankets, like those found on Hudson's Bay point blankets for their Glacier National Park blanket. The Pendleton blankets became not only basic wearing apparel, but also were standards of trading and ceremonial use. The company began to expand their product line into other woolen textile products and later into apparel. In 1912

598-460: The new line was a major success. Throughout the company's history its products had been sold in specialty stores and selected department stores, including, C.P. Bishop's original clothing store in Salem. In the 1980s Pendleton entered the retail business with a chain of company-owned and affiliated stores that sold the full line of Pendleton products. The company also began a direct to consumer catalog business and expanded into an ecommerce platform in

624-416: The northern part of the center's grounds led to the discovery of the site where a Methodist mission school stood before it was destroyed by fire in 1872. Visitors can tour the mill buildings with displays of original 19th and 20th century machinery and photos about industrial wool processing. The houses and church have been restored and furnished to a mid 19th-century appearance. The Jason Lee House features

650-583: The same location. This building, designed by architect W.D. Pugh, is the brick structure that stands today. The building opened to the public on May 15, 1896, to speeches, demonstrations and music. The mill was operated by four generations of Kay family members. Thomas Lister Kay died in 1900 and his son Thomas B. Kay took over as president and served until his own death in 1931. Thomas B. Kay's son Ercel took over for his father, and Ercel's son Tom Kay took over for him. The mill announced its closure in 1959, and all operations ceased by 1962. Archeological digs on

676-659: The village of ímatalam that was situated at the mouth of the Umatilla River and where the language was spoken. The Nez Perce refer to the Umatilla people as hiyówatalampoo (Aoki (1994:171)). The Umatilla nation was bordered by the Teninos ( Tinaynuɫáma - "People of Tináynu") to the West and the Klickitats ( X̣ʷáłx̣ʷayłáma - "Prairie People") to north, across the Columbia River. Also by their northern border were

#420579