It is located 3 miles down the road from the original Plant 1 facility. Plant 2Ī second plant is opened in Red Wing, MN to keep up with the growing worldwide demand. This match lead to the boot’s unique ‘Irish Setter’ name and dog logo. The unique red color of the leather mirrors the distinctive coat of a classic upland bird dog the Irish Setter. The model 877 hunting boot is introduced. The Engineer boot was created to serve the needs of the men who piloted these steam puffing behemoths. In the 1930’s trains were America’s transportation backbone. Now the shoe store can be brought to the factory location for workers to buy shoes. Red Wing introduces its first mobile shoe sales service. Red Wing introduces its first steel toe work boot. It would be one of the company’s top selling styles. Billy Bootīuilt to meet the demands of America’s adventurous youths, the style featured a side snap pocket for a pocket knife. He would be the first of three generations of the Sweasy family to lead the company. Sweasy becomes president of Red Wing Shoe Company. The logo is modeled after the feathers used in Chief Red Wing’s ceremonial headdress. The Red Wing winged logo from 1928 is introduced. This boot expands Red Wing’s reputation of quality across more of America. The boot used special leathers, tanned to withstand harsh farming conditions. With the introduction of boots for oil field workers, Red Wing begins developing specialty work boots to meet specific occupational needs. This 1919 ad highlights the quality of hand-nailed Red Wing boots. Outstanding quality was the essence of Red Wing products. To support the war effort, Red Wing redirects its boot production to support America’s doughboys serving their country in World War I. Horse Drawn Wagonįinished shoes, packed in wooden crates, are loaded on wagons headed to the nearby Mississippi riverfront for loading onto trains and riverboats destined for retailers throughout the upper Mississippi valley. The signature triple-stitch sewing pattern is used to sew the pieces together. View of Main Street in 1900 from Barn Bluff. The first generation of shoe making craftsmen cut Red Wing’s heavy weight, high quality leather by hand. Today the location is used by the company for new product development. The original Red Wing Shoe plant located at the corner of Main Street and Potter. The original work boot from the first year of Red Wing production combined leather, buckles and laces for a secure fit. Charles BeckmanĬharles Beckman, a successful Main Street shoe merchant creates the Red Wing Shoe Company with 14 other local business investors. The original factory, we might add, is to this day being used by Red Wing for new product development.įor over a century, this commitment to excellence has been handed down to these generations of shoemakers, and it is all this that won the Red Wing Shoes corporation a place in our hearts. This is amply illustrated by the fact that these days, a third generation of employees, located down the road from the original factory, continues the tradition by using the same premium craftsmanship and attention to detail: triple-stitched seams, sturdy welt construction and rich leathers are signature elements of a Red Wing boot. The lasting success of Red Wing is largely due to never compromising their two main criteria for their products, i.e.

So in 1905, he set up Red Wing Shoe Company, taking its name and logo, by way of a commemorative gesture, from a Native American called Red Wing, the leader of the original inhabitants of the upper Mississippi River territory. In a defining tale of the American Dream, a main street shoe merchant called Charles Beckman spotted a demand for comfortable, durable work boots yet there was no supply.

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