Cowboy hats, legendary hats since 1865

Cowboy hats history
There are few items in the history of American culture with the same iconic weight as the cowboy hat. It is the one item of apparel that can be worn in any corner of the world and receive immediate recognition. As the old cowboy saying goes, "It’s the last thing you take off and the first thing that is noticed."

The history of the cowboy hat is not that old. Before the creation of the cowboy hat, in other words, before John B. Stetson came along, the cowpunchers of the plains wore castoffs of previous lives and generations. Everything, from formal top hats and derbies, leftover remnants of Civil War headgear, berets and sailor hats, were all worn by men moving westward. Mexican and Texas ranchers in the early to mid 1800s also made popular the Sombrero, a wide brimmed fur-felt hat that offered better protection against the stifling heat and unpredictable weather of the North American West. Before the turn of the 20th century, many cowboy hats were referred to as Sombreros.

Stetson Tom Mix ten-gallon cowboy hats

The cowboy hat is truly an example of form following function, created by John B. Stetson, the son of a Philadelphia hat maker, today’s cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design, since it's inception one in 1865. As the story goes, John B. Stetson and some companions went west seeking a drier climate, and during a hunting trip, Stetson amused his friends by showing them how he could make cloth from fur without weaving. Stetson used the fur from hides collected on the hunting trip. Kneading the fur and working it with his hands, dipping it into boiling water, spreading it out, kneading it, and dipping it again, he created a soft, smooth piece of felt. Using a technique that has been known since the beginning of modern civilization, Stetson used the only material he had on hand, fur, and amazed his friends as he transformed it into felt.

Fur is essentially the hair of certain mammals and is made of a series of little hooks and prongs. When stimulated by water and kneading, matting occurs, which causes the fur to hold on to itself. As the water evaporates and additional kneading is applied, the fur contracts and the little prongs and hooks draw closer and closer together.

After creating his 'fur blanket', Stetson fashioned an enormous hat with a huge brim, originally as a joke, but the hat was notably big enough to protect a man from sun, rain and all the rigors the outdoors could bring forth. Stetson decided to wear the hat on his hunting trip, and it worked so well that he continued wearing it on his travels throughout the West. Later, he sold the hat to a rugged horseman who was fascinated by the unique headwear. Stetson received five dollars for his creation, and as he stood back and watched the horseman ride away donning his hat, a rather interesting idea came to min. The idea was not lost, and when Stetson returned to Philadelphia, he pondered the potential marketability of a piece of headwear that would protect its wearer from the elements.

Cowboy hats, legendary hats since 1865
In 1865, as the cattle business began to boom, Stetson became convinced that the cowmen of the West would recognize his hat as a useful addition to their wardrobe. He began to produce the first incarnation of his 'big hats', originally called the Boss of the Plains, and immediately dispatched samples to potential dealers throughout the West. As they say, 'to make a long story short, Stetson was soon inundated with orders for his unique headgear. He even attracted the attention of the Texas Rangers, who quickly became the first law-enforcement group to wear cowboy hats as part of their official uniforms.

Before long, Stetson was famous for his newfangled headwear, the cowboy hat. In those early years, whether he wore cowman’s gear or not, the cowboy hat had the unique quality of identifying its wearer as someone associated with the West, and the cattle industry. Merely by placing his new cowboy hat on his head, he became part of a growing fraternity of cowmen who carried with them an image and aura intrinsically linked to the Wild West.

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