A history of Faribault Woolen Mills

1865: Founded by Carl Klemer, a German-born cabinetmaker. Mill begins as a horse-powered factory that turned wool into wool batting.

1877: Begins selling blankets.

1917: Mill gets contracts to make army blankets during World War I.

1989: Acquires the Three Weavers, a small mill in Houston.

1990s: With textile weaving going overseas, mills around the country start closing.

2001: Investor Michael Harris of Wayzata starts running the company, ending 136 years of Klemer family management. With $4 million in assets but $12 million in debt, it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

2009: Mill closes.