The Junior Historian, Volume 8, Number 4, January 1948 Page: 5
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
TEX TAN SADDLE FACTORY
by CHARLES BREWER
Cuero High School7S the train sped swiftly toward
STexas a couple of clean-cut young
men, just out of the service and
on their way home, sat in the smoker
talking. I, being a veteran myself and
on my way home, was reminiscing of
my loved ones and scenes of home; but
to my astonishment these fellows were
talking of saddles. Saddles, of all
things. I sat across the aisle and could
not help hearing them as they talked.
Finally, after listening to them for some
time, I decided to put in my two cents
about saddles and began telling of the
saddle industry in Cuero, my home
town. Well, you know how a Texan
likes to brag, and I am no exception,
so I began...
In my home town, which is Cuero,
Texas, is located what is known,
or rather believed to be, the world's
largest saddle factory. It is a division
of the Tex Tan organization, which is
located in Yoakum, just sixteen miles
from Cuero.
"Tex Tan had its beginning in 1917.
At that time it was known as Texas
Hide and Leather Company, an organi-
zation founded by Philip Welhausen,
Sr. In 1929 the Texas Tanning and
Manufacturing Company took over the
business, which had grown quite a bit
since its founding and had a one-story
hollow tile factory building.
Today the company's employees num-
ber more than seven hundred, and its
plant consists of nine buildings besides
two warehouses and several small stor-
age and auxiliary buildings.
At first the few products the company
made were sold only in Texas. Now the
goods are distributed in all forty-eight
states of the Union and in a number of
foreign countries.
Tex Tan organization produces many
kinds of leather goods. The tannerydivision produces Hereford Brand sole
leather, harness and skirting leather,
collar leather, and the well-known line,
Indian lace leathers. The harness and
saddle factory, which is located at
Cuero, produces the famous Hereford
Brand of saddle, which is widely used
throughout the range country. The nov-
elty or "Lions" division produces Texas
Ranger belts, Saddle Craft belts, Saddle
Craft billfolds, and an enormous line
of miscellaneous leather goods. Among
these are whips, cut-laces, boot laces,
chaps, pistol holsters, and knee pads.
But to get back to saddles. As I said
before, this division of the Tex Tan
organization is located at Cuero and
is devoted exclusively to the manufac-
turing of saddles. Only the building of
new saddles is carried on. No repairs or
rebuilding of old saddles is done. The
factory is laid out for straight line
production. By straight line production,
I mean that the leather and the tree for
the saddle come in the door at one end
of the building and the finished saddle,
packed and ready for shipment, goes
out the door at the other end.
Some of the leather for the saddles
comes from Yoakum, but most of it
comes from California. The leather is
received and measured for thickness.
Then it is sent to the inspection bench.
From there it is sent to be hand trimmed
by a man who cuts it to the correct size.
The scraps and bits of leather are not
wasted nor thrown away. They are used
for rosettes and stirrup covers. The cut
leather next goes to have the design
put on. The outline for the design is
put on by a press.
The trees for the saddles are made
in the factory at Yoakum. The wood
for these trees is ponderosa pine ob-
tained from California. The finished
(Continued on Page 8)
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 8, Number 4, January 1948, periodical, January 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391365/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State Historical Association.