THE impossible history of the kentucky woven label company

In the late 1930s, a newly married couple set out to do the impossible. At the time, there were a total of 12 companies in the country making woven labels from fine silk, and all of them were located near “Silk City,” Patterson, NJ. There was no such company in the south.

After the labor strikes of the early 1900s, William Pritz moved to Tennessee and began considering how his enginuity and skills could be utilized further in the south. He soon realized that Kentucky was filled with some of the biggest clothing manufacturers in the country.

With the aid of his brother Louie, and wife Annie, he did the impossible and built the first ever woven label company in the south, right here in Allensville, KY.

We’ve created this website to share the unique history contained here to ensure the deep roots of craftsmanship, hard work, community, and rich history are not lost, but rather that we learn from them and that they are celebrated.

We hope you enjoy our history, but we also hope you’ll take the time to visit our museum and to see it all in person. Come visit us and check out the former Kentucky Woven Label Company, the now home of Kentucky Lumber.