Career
In 1865, Stetson moved to Philadelphia and founded the John B. Stetson Company to manufacture hats suited to the needs of Westerners.[2] He created a modified sombrero and sent samples of the Boss of the Plains style he had invented to dealers in the West and was soon inundated with requests for more. These lightweight hats were natural in color with four inch crowns and brims; a plain strap was used for the band.
Due to the time he had spent with cowboys and Western settlers, Stetson knew firsthand that the headwear they wore (such as coonskin caps, sea captain hats, straw hats, wool top hats, Hardee hats, and wool derbies) were impractical. He decided to offer people a better hat. Made from waterproof felt, the new hat was durable and the wide brim protected the wearer from the sun and rain.
One observer noted, "It kept the sun out of your eyes and off your neck. It was like an umbrella. It gave you a bucket (the crown) to water your horse and a cup (the brim) to water yourself. It made a hell of a fan, which you need sometimes for a fire but more often to shunt cows this direction or that."[5]
Stetson went on to build the Carlsbad, easily identified by its main crease down the front.[6] His hat was called a Stetson, because he had his name John B. Stetson Company embossed in gold in every hatband.[7] The Stetson soon became the most well known hat in the West. All the high-crowned, wide-brimmed, soft felt western hats that followed are intimately associated with the cowboy image created by Stetson.
The Stetson cowboy hat was the symbol of the highest quality. Western icons such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane, Will Rogers, Annie Oakley, Pawnee Bill, Tom Mix, and the Lone Ranger wore Stetsons. The company also made hats for the Texas Rangers, which became the first law enforcement agency to incorporate the cowboy hat into their uniform.[8] Stetson's Western-style hats were worn by employees of the National Park Service, U.S. Cavalry soldiers, and U.S. presidents,[2] including Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.[3] The militaries of Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom have incorporated the Stetson into their uniforms.[3]
John B. Stetson Company
Under Stetson's direction, The John B. Stetson Company became one of the largest hat firms in the world. The plant in Philadelphia covered over five acres and contained over 24 acres of floor space. Stetson hats won numerous awards, but as his company grew, he "faced the challenge of developing a reliable labor force."[2] Reportedly, "people working in the hat trade at that time tended to drift from employer to employer" and "absenteeism was rampant."[2] Stetson, "guided by Baptist religious principles, believed that by providing for his employees he would lend stability to their lives and attract higher caliber ones."[2] Unlike most other employers, Stetson decided to offer benefits to entice workers to stay.[2] Stetson also made sure his employees had a clean, safe place to work, including building a hospital, a park and houses for his 5,000 employees.[2] Stetson's unusual moves helped him build a factory in Philadelphia that grew to 25 buildings on 9 acre.
