In the summer of 1918, residents of Sellwood awaited the opening of what would turn out to be one of the community’s most important employers ever, the Oregon Worsted Company. Unlike the Eastside Lumber Company or the Eastside Railway, each of which employed hundreds of local men – and are now long gone – the Oregon Worsted plant would provide new job opportunities for girls and women.
Not that other entrepreneurs hadn’t tried this before. Sellwood’s first attempt at a woolen mill came in 1902, when William P. Olds opened a factory east of Sellwood, near the present-day intersection of S.E. Umatilla Street and McLoughlin Boulevard. Using the waters of Johnson Creek to power his machines, Mr. Olds’ Portland Woolen Mills Company was able to produce lightweight suits and tennis flannels – but only in small quantities.
Like many wooden manufacturing buildings of its time, Mr. Olds’ factory was packed with combustible materials, such as dried sheep wool, with very little ventilation, or safety provisions. This inventory ignited, and the business burnt to the ground. Olds rejected any idea of rebuilding there and left Southeast Portland – choosing instead to construct a new textile factory north of Portland on the St. Johns waterfront…