Named for the town in Minnesota where it was founded, Red Wing Shoe Company was created in 1905 by Charles Beckman, a successful local shoe merchant. Red Wing’s first boot model was designed for oil field workers. In 1940, Red Wing began selling shoes and boots directly to workers at their job sites. In addition to outfitting American workers, Red Wing was a major supplier of footwear for soldiers fighting in World War I and World War II. Red Wing launched their Heritage collection in 2008 which offers original styles from their archives.