All Hail, John Batterson Stetson (1839-1906)

In 1865, having returned to Philadelphia, John Stetson founded the John B. Stetson Company, specializing in the high-end felt hats he’d toyed with out West. His most famous model was the Boss of the Plains. It came with a dome-shaped crown, which called to mind the famous bowler hats of the era, but with a far larger brim. Stetson kept things simple by avoiding any preset creases or garish decorations, which would allow his customers to start with a blank slate, one that would transform over time.

John Stetson sent out samples of the Boss of the Plains to every Western wear retailer he could reach and was sure to include a blank order form with each sample. The as-yet-unknown brand was suddenly assailed with enormous orders from every corner of the frontier.

The Boss hat was offered in only two colors to start, black and a pearl-gray white. Cowboys in Texas preferred the black ones with a wider brim, while riders up in Montana chose the white, albeit with a narrower brim that was less likely to be swept off their heads in high winds. (Note: Grandpa Clyde V. Moody, who homesteaded in Montana, wore the lighter colored hat.)

By 1886, Stetson was not only a household name, but his hat brand was the largest in the world. A fully mechanized factory took up nine acres of Philadelphia and was churning out two million hats a year by 1906. Even after the West was fully won, people kept buying up Stetsons right and left.

John Stetson passed away in 1906, that landmark year when production ramped up significantly. But in the years before his death, he adopted many new modern manufacturing methods and took a paternal interest in his employees. Before industrialization, most hatmakers were itinerant workers who traveled around the country, wherever work was to be had. To keep these skilled workers in his factories, John used pensions, shared stock, and sizable Christmas bonuses to encourage loyalty. His factory had a library, a dentist’s office, a hospital, and an auditorium, all to help out his workers. He also held classes to help his largely immigrant workforce gain citizenship and navigate their new home.

Paraphrased from journalofantiques.com.