IT'S NO JOKE.

In 1875 a cowboy walked into C.H. Hyer's small cobbler shop in Olathe, Kansas, and the history of footwear was changed forever.

1870’s Kansas was Cowtown. The link between the established cities of the East and the ever-developing frontier of the American West. And with that, came the arrivals and passing-throughs of a new class of American icon: the Cowboy.  

One ordinary day, a wayward cowboy on the long-haul cattle trail made his way into C.H. Hyer’s small cobbler shop in Olathe, Kansas. His civil war style boots had seen better days and he needed boots that could withstand the rugged work of the cattle drive. C.H. Hyer listened as the customer described the features he needed for his safety and comfort—a toe shape that would slide into the stirrup, a raised heel that would hold the stirrup and a scalloped top so he could slide his foot in and out of the boot more easily. HYER had never made boots like this, but he willingly accepted the challenge. After a couple of attempts, he finally made a pair he felt sure would meet the needs of the foot-sore cowboy and he appropriately named it: the “Cowboy Boot.”