Wigwam Mills is a hosiery company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.
The company was founded in 1905 by Herbert Chesebro, Robert Ehany, and Lawerance Bentz in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The company struggled during the Great Depression but the company stayed in business thanks to a loan from the Citizens Bank. During World War II, the company devoted up to 75% of its capacity to the war effort. By 1945, the company had expanded its line to include baseball hosiery, anklets, hockey caps, mittens, and socks for all types of activities. The company prospered for the next 65 years knitting socks, headwear, and other knit products. From the mid-1980s through the late 1990s the Wigwam 622 slouch socks became very popular.
In the 1990s, the company developed the Ultimax and INgenious brands, each with patented sock technology and, in 2022, Wigwam became the official sock of U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
Early history
Wigwam Mills was founded in 1905 by Herbert Chesebro, Robert Ehany, and Lawerance Bentz in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a year after the Sheboygan Knitting Company burned to the ground. All three founders were employees of the company and purchased equipment and recruited employees from their former company. The new company was founded under the name "Hand Knit Hosiery Company." It made socks and headwear, primarily from