Pendleton Woolen Mills - Pendleton Woolen Mills

Pendleton Woolen Mills

In 1909 the family moved to Pendleton in northeastern Oregon and took over the old defunct Pendleton Woolen Mills to begin the business there. The town of Pendleton 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 the business because eastern Oregon is sheep country and having wool producers near the mills allowed the mills to significantly cut the costs of production. The town of Pendleton is a major railhead for the Columbia River Plateau and allowed convenient shipping for the growing business.

The old mill that was taken over by the Bishops had been built in 1893 and had been a wool scouring plant where raw wool is scrubbed and packed before shipping out to the textile mills. In 1895 the mill was enlarged and converted into a textile mill and in 1896 began making Native-American blankets—geometric patterned robes (unfringed blankets) for Native-American men and shawls (fringed blankets) for Native-American women in the area—the Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes. That business eventually failed and the plant stood idle until it was purchased by the Bishop family. When the Bishop family assumed ownership, they built a new plant with the assistance of the town of Pendleton, which issued bonds for the construction of the plant.