Know what clothing, shoes, or accessories you want? Search now!
Choose Your Brand - Shop Now
Shop a great selection of men's cowboy boots, western boots, ranch boots, riding boots and classic country footwear styles.
Surprise Me - Show Me What You've Got
Choose Your Brand - Shop Now
Shop Smoky Mountain men's boots and affordable western boot styles.
Shop Smoky MountainPowered by eBay
William Hyer, a German immigrant, came to the United States in the mid-1800s and began to practice shoemaking. William had two sons, Charles and Edward, who learned boot making from their father.
In 1872, Charles moved to Olathe, Kansas, where he secured a job at the Olathe School for the Deaf. There, he taught shoe and harness making. As time went on, he opened a small cobbling shop and eventually hired his brother Edward to help him run it. The Hyer Boot Company was officially founded around 1880.
Charles is credited as being one of the first to invent the cowboy boot. According to the Hyer Company, it all began in 1875 when a cowboy from Colorado paid a visit to the Hyer shop on his way home from Kansas City. He had a special request based on the needs of his profession.
Specifically, he needed a new pair of boots that were unlike his current Civil War-style boots. His boot had to have a pointed toe that would slide into a stirrup without effort, a high top with a scalloped front and back so he could take his boots off and put them on with minimum effort, and a high heel with a slant that would restrain a stirrup.
Charles accepted the request and the cowboy boot was the result. The unknown cowboy was so gratified with Hyer's creation that upon his return to Colorado, he told others about his new boots, and the rest is history.