Today Faribault produces more than half of the new wool blankets made in this country. Faribault Woolen Mills history begins in 1865 when Carl H. Klemer, a German cabinetmaker, came to Minnesota. He bought a used horse-powered machine and started custom carding wool. Business grew and soon he also added a steam engine, spinning jennies and looms. Mr. Klemer also began producing cloth, flannel sheeting and blankets.

At the time, woolen mills were common fixtures in larger communities. Faribault was one of approximately 800 in the Central United States. Today it is one of three.

In 1867 the mill had expanded to include a 5-horsepower steam engine and 2 employees. By 1877 product diversification had begun with the introduction of wool sheets, the fore-runner to "Faribo" blankets. Nearing 1900 some 30 employees manufactured and sold the millÕs line of yarns, flannels and by this time, blankets. In 1913 Carl Klemer brought in a partner by the name of Edward Johnson.

Faribault is one of the few remaining "Fully Vertical" woolen mills in this country. For example, the mill provides all the functions to change raw wool into woven bed blankets. Such functions are: dyeing, carding, spinning, weaving, napping and finishing, all carefully executed under one roof.