The Phoenix Knitting Works was incorporated in 1897. Dates of the company's actual founding
vary; some sources state 1890, others 1887. The business engaged in the purchase,
manufacture, and sale of knit goods, such as gloves, scarfs, and mittens. Herman Gardner,
one of the original founders, led the company's rapid growth. Between 1910 and 1920 the
business expanded rapidly to include the manufacture of women's hosiery, and became one of
the largest single producers of silk hose in the United States. In 1922 the name of the
corporation was changed to Phoenix Hosiery Company.
In the 1940s, when nylon began to replace silk, Phoenix began the production of women's
nylon hosiery. In the 1950s the company began to move to the South. The Phoenix Hosiery
Company was sold to the Kayser-Roth Corporation in 1959.
