Brown Bag Lunch and Learn: Evolution of the Cowboy Boot

Bootmaker Ray Dorwart shares a brief history of the cowboy boot.  

When drovers began pushing cattle north from Texas to railheads in Kansas, their footwear ran the gamut from brogan shoes to “Hessian” boots to surplus US Army shoes and boots. The way the drovers’ feet sunk to the heel in ox-bow stirrups, making their insteps rest on the tread of the stirrup, required a new type of boot: one with support in the arch, a narrow toe with a tall upper to protect the lower leg.  

A couple of Kansas bootmakers combined British, “Hessian,” and Spanish/Mexican riding boots to create what we today call a cowboy boot. Dorwart has been perfecting the art of bookmaking for several decades at Dorwart Custom Cowboy Boots in Guthrie, Oklahoma.   

Bring your lunch or purchase one at The Museum Grill. Reservations are not required. Save time, register at the link above.  

$5; free for Museum members.