Founded in 1837 in Obfelden, Switzerland, by the Stehli family, the original cotton mill transitioned to weaving silk in 1840. By the 1890s, half of the silk produced by Stehli was being shipped to the United States; at that point moving production closer to the customer base made economic sense. Stehli opened their first US mill in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1898 and at the same time established an office in New York City, becoming one of the first American silk manufacturers. By the mid-1920s, Stehli operated five mills in three states—Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. In those two decades, Stehli’s business increased fourteen fold. A significant product line was their three Americana Prints series of 1925-1927, under art director and artist Kneeland “Ruzzie” Green. In a deliberate attempt to shift the silk industry away from traditional French design, the three series focused on imagery of contemporary American life. Fifteen well-known artists were commissioned to design 86 silk patterns.
