Photo and wordmark: Wigwam Mills
Their first customers were lumbermen. Here we are again.
It's 67° and cloudy in Sheboygan right now. Sock weather by tonight.
Three taps to the right sock.
Tell us who they’re for, where they’ll go and a shoe size. We’ll pick one sock, one color and one size, using Wigwam’s own size chart. Nothing leaves your browser.
Twenty minutes up the road, a fourth generation is still knitting socks.
Wigwam began in 1905 making heavy wool socks for men working Wisconsin timber. A hundred and twenty-one years later a lumber outfit is standing at the same counter, asking for the same thing. We’re proud to offer Wigwam. They make a great sock.
Why we’re proud to put Wigwam on our shelf
Wisconsin lumbermen, 1905. Heavy wool socks and liner mittens.
121 years in the same city. A fourth generation running it.
Five Kettles. The first was a struggle. Four in Wigwam, and he never went back.
76% wool · 22% stretch nylon · 2% spandex
43% stretch nylon · 27% polyester · 24% baby alpaca · 6% spandex
40% stretch nylon · 33% polyester · 21% merino wool · 6% spandex
Dark is the animal fiber. Straight off the tags. Only El Pine is mostly wool.
Three Wigwam socks, knit in Sheboygan.
Our first order is 36 pairs. When they’re gone, we order more.
Not sure which? Three taps ↑
El Pine
76% wool · 22% stretch nylon · 2% spandex
Alpaca Ultra Mid-Crew
43% stretch nylon · 27% polyester · 24% baby alpaca · 6% spandex
Merino Ultra Cool Lite Quarter
40% stretch nylon · 33% polyester · 21% merino wool · 6% spandex
Knit Cap
Black or Mid Grey Heather · one sizeProduct photographs: Wigwam Mills
The alpaca sock, out of the package.
Photo: Wigwam Mills
Photo: Wigwam Mills
How a sock gets to your door.
- Knit in SheboyganBy Wigwam, as they have since 1905.
- Twenty minutes westFrom their door on Hwy 42, out Highway 23.
- Our shop in GreenbushWe open the box and count every pair.
- Your doorNone have shipped yet. The first ones will.
Five habits for a lot of winters.
- 01Inside outTurn them before the wash. Wash before the first wear.
- 02Warm, not hotWarm water. Wigwam's ceiling is 120°F.
- 03No bleach, no softenerSoftener clogs the channels that move moisture.
- 04Lowest heat, or flatTumble on the lowest heat, or lay flat to dry.
- 05Keep apartNot in with denim or anything with Velcro.
Questions about fit? Call (920) 526-1583. Max answers at any hour. He can put you through to a person or take a message.
Max is our AI. Or write to help@thelumberoutletgroup.com.
“I raced in them and swear by them. They got me through four of my five Kettles. The first one was a struggle because I couldn't find a good sock and then I never went back.”Dan Crouse, Founder
Both of us in Sheboygan County
A hundred and twenty-one years, in their own pictures.
Photo: Wigwam Mills
Photo: Wigwam Mills
Photo: Wigwam Mills
It starts with a building burning down.
- 1904
The mill burns down
The Sheboygan Knitting Company, built on the back of Wisconsin's lumber boom, burns to the ground and is liquidated. That is the end of the story, and it is where this one starts.
- 1905
Three men start again
Herbert Chesebro, Robert Ehany and Lawrence Bentz open the Hand Knit Hosiery Company a year after the fire, in the same city, knitting the same wool.
- The first product
Heavy wool socks for lumbermen
Not athletes. Not hikers. Men working timber in a Wisconsin winter, who needed a sock that would not quit at noon, and liner mittens to go with it. They sold them under a brand name: Wigwam.
- 1909
A building that is still there
They put up a mill in Sheboygan. It still stands. You can walk into it today, though these days it pours beer rather than winding yarn.
- 1919
They wrote their own paper
A monthly called Ravelings, written and printed to tell people what the mill was making. A sock company publishing a journal about its own work. We are aware of the resemblance.
- 1920s
Abercrombie & Fitch come knocking
By now they are among the first in the country making athletic socks, and the specialty work goes out to Abercrombie & Fitch, back when that name meant expedition outfitters. They try swimwear too.
- 1930s
Sweaters, dog sweaters, and a banker
The Depression nearly finishes them. J.W. Hansen at Citizens Bank keeps the doors open. They knit athletic sweaters to survive, and sweaters for dogs, which we think is the most honest thing a company can admit to.
- 1940s
Three quarters of the mill goes to war
Up to 75 percent of capacity turned over to knitting for troops overseas. Army and Navy wool socks. Afterwards they become one of the first sock makers in America to knit with nylon.
- 1957
The brand eats the company
On the first of January the Hand Knit Hosiery Company formally becomes Wigwam Mills, because the name on the sock had grown bigger than the name on the door. The mark was two crossed knitting needles, drawn to look like a wigwam.
History drawn from Wigwam’s own account, the Wikipedia entry on Wigwam Mills, and SNEWS. We have told it as we found it. If the family reads this and we have a detail wrong, we will fix it the same day.
We’re proud to offer Wigwam. They make a great sock.
We are proud to partner with Wigwam. We welcome the chance to build a wonderful partnership with them, and to offer their socks alongside other products made with the same care.
The next chapter has not been written yet.
A hundred and twenty-one years is a long run and it is still going. Whatever happens next between a lumber outfit in Greenbush and a knitting mill in Sheboygan, we will write it down honestly, the same way we wrote down everything above it.
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