At Greeley Hat Works, we believe the cowboy hat is more than felt and ribbon—it’s a piece of history. But what is the true origin story of this iconic piece of western wear? The answer is multi-layered, mixing ingenuity, necessity, and tradition.
Origin of the Cowboy Hat: Fact, Legend, and Vaqueros
The most widely known origin story takes us back to Colorado in 1853. A young man came out west seeking a drier climate. At the base of Pikes Peak, he began trapping beaver, mashing the hair, and felting it over an open flame and water. He matted a wide-brim hat, and as the legend goes, a cowboy rode by and offered him $10 for it on the spot.
That young man was John B. Stetson. He took his ideas back to Philadelphia, and his first western hat—a big-brimmed hat designed to protect cowboys from the wind, rain, and snow—was called the Boss of the Plains. It was a radical change from the top hats, bowlers, and homburgs men typically wore at the time. We really have to give props to the ingenuity of a young man at the base of Pikes Peak for creating that first western hat.
However, we also acknowledge the other influences that shaped the hat. There is truth to the stories of the Mexican vaquero modifying the large sombrero into something more manageable for riding and working as they moved north through New Mexico and Arizona. A lot of our styles today are still based off those old vaqueros. Additionally, the fur traders working with Indigenous people also helped shape the early style and materials of the western hat.
Early Cowboy Hats: Materials and Evolution
In those early days, the quality of materials and the process of making the felt were substantially different than most factory-made felt hats of today. Quality was paramount because men had always worn hats. Even sixty years ago, the quality was substantially different.
How Style, Function, and Meaning Have Changed
For a long time, the style of a cowboy hat was truly regional. You used to be able to tell where a cowboy was from just by the style of his hat.
- Regional Function: Different regions, because of the weather and function, had different styles. For example, the Nevada buckaroo style was inspired by the Spanish vaquero, while West Texas had a shorter brim due to the wind.
- Artistic Influence: Styles were also influenced by popular western artists, such as the Montana Peak being inspired by the work of William Russell or Charlie Russell.
- Practical Evolution: Practicality drove change. My friend Stephen Wilde's grandfather claimed to have created the style of the curled brim on hats so that three guys could fit across the bench seat of a pickup truck without their brims hitting each other.
Then, the internet changed everything. The world got tremendously smaller, and communication became fluid and quick. Now, we have retailers in Switzerland selling more Nevada buckaroo hats than are sold in Nevada, and you have guys in Kansas who want a West Texas punch. The style, function, and fashion are all changing at the drop of a hat. We don't see it as diluted, but rather as commerce and communication becoming much more fluid.
Greeley Hat Works: History, Legacy, and Philosophy
The GHW History
Greeley Hat Works was founded in 1909 as the Greeley Hat Shop and Shine Parlor by two Greek brothers whose last name ended in "-ous" (their unique penmanship makes their exact names hard to confirm!). In 1926, the shop was purchased by Ben Martinez, who actually changed his name to Ben Martin because, at the time, people were reluctant to bring their hats to a Mexican American.
I purchased the shop myself in 1996, and I continue to uphold this incredible legacy. We still use traditional Parisienne hat-making tools that we call "retro-tech" to build each and every hat.
How the Philosophy Has Evolved
The grand vision of Greeley Hat Works really hasn't changed. Our philosophy remains customer-oriented, community-focused, and true to our roots.
However, the hat itself, and the role of the cowboy, have changed. We've had to change some things—whether it's the degrees of stiffener in the brim or the gram weight of our felt body—based on the demands our wearers put on their hats.
The biggest philosophical change, and a fun pivot for us, has been thinking outside of the hat box. While the majority of our hats have a western weight and durability, we’ve enjoyed tying and transforming that quality into more fashion-forward looks that have been accepted in both mainstream and western circles. We are proud to preserve the history of the cowboy hat while constantly working to reimagine this classic style for the demands of the modern wearer.