Kerr, Ford F.

Born in Brown County, Ohio, in 1885, Ford F. Kerr learned rug manufacturing and upholstery in Southern California and Alameda before founding the Dwight Way Rug Works in Berkeley in 1909. After selling his Berkeley enterprise in 1912, Kerr relocated to Fresno and established the Fresno Rug Manufacturing Company on G Street, pioneering a process that sanitized, cut, and rewove customer-supplied old carpets into double-sided, reversible rugs.

Under Kerr’s management, the Fresno enterprise grew to employ thirty workers, utilized four delivery vehicles, and built an extensive mail-order trade spanning California, Arizona, and Nevada, securing prominent accounts with the Fresno, Hughes, and Sequoia Hotels. He expanded his business footprint in February 1919 by founding a major rug works on Mission Street in San Francisco. Honored with top awards at the Fresno, Modesto, Bakersfield, and California State Fairs, Kerr was also active in local fraternal affairs as a high-ranking member of the Knights of Pythias.