Woolrich ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Pine Creek Township,

Clinton County, Pennsylvania Clinton County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,450. Its county seat is Lock Haven. The county was created on June 21, 1839, from parts of Centre and Lycoming Counties. Its name is ...

, United States. Its elevation is 725 feet (221 m), and it is located at (41.1911819, 77.3720595). Woolrich is a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

, the home of Woolrich, Inc., a family-owned clothing company. The company was founded in 1830 by John Rich and Daniel McCormick, and originally located at a mill on Little Plum Run in nearby Dunnstable Township. By 1834, Rich and McCormick decided to move their operations to a location with a better water supply at Chatham's Run in Pine Creek Township. They bought 300 acres and first built a sawmill; around 1845 the company (by then solely owned by John Rich) relocated to a new mill at the Chatham's Run location. This 1845 mill no longer exists in its original configuration, but its location remains the site of Woolrich's main operations and its surrounding community. The town was first called Factoryville, later Richville, and after 1888 was named Woolrich. John Rich began his business by selling wool to

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

s and their families who were located in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. The wool was used to make clothing and socks for the lumberjacks. Lumber was the primary source of income for most people who lived in this region. Hence the lumber barons' major homes in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

called Millionaires Row. The woolen mill that was started was one of the businesses that sprang up to support the lumber industry. Woolrich Inc., though it does not make its clothes in the local factory, still manufactures blankets and fabric there, including those used in the U.S. military. In 2014 Woolrich Inc. partnered with a Delaware brewery, Dogfish Head to manufacture beer made from pine trees and introduced the black-and-red checkered pattern that is one of Woolrich's signature patterns in their logo.

Notable person

Robert F. Rich, who headed the Woolrich company for many years and was also a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for 18 years between 1931 and 1951, was born in Woolrich.Robert F. Rich
at the ''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

''.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Clinton County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania Company towns in Pennsylvania 1845 establishments in Pennsylvania