One Hundred Years of Hats: Texas Hatters Hits a Century in Lockhart

Here is some good news that smells like steamed felt: the Gammage family began outfitting real cowboys in Texas in 1926, and this fall — as the Gilmer Mirror reported in late September — their shop, Texas Hatters, is marking a full century in business. One hundred years of hats, made by hand, by one family, now working out of Lockhart, Texas.

What happened

The centennial is a little fuzzy on purpose. It is hard to nail down the exact day the family started, which feels right for a business that began as a side hustle. Marvin Gammage started making hats back in 1926 after apprenticing with another master hat-maker, squeezing hat production in at night and on weekends while working a day job at a chemical plant. In 1965, he and his son Manny rolled into Austin and into the hat business full-time, and that's when the operation took the name Texas Hatters.

Today the torch has passed again. The shop now sits in Lockhart and is run by Joel Gammage, the fourth generation of hat-makers in the family.

Why it matters

Because this kind of work has nearly vanished, even here. Workshops producing the real deal in the time-honored way now number only a handful, even in the state that made the cowboy hat famous. While most cowboy hats in dance halls today come off highly automated assembly lines, Texas Hatters has stayed in the game with the old-fashioned handcrafted method.

A hundred years of that is not nostalgia. It's proof that a small shop can keep real production alive in a small town — not as a museum piece, but as a working business handing skills down parent to kid, four times over. If you've ever worried that nobody makes anything anymore, Lockhart would like a word.

The hats got around

For a small-town shop, the reach is something. Texas Hatters has outfitted famous musicians, actors, British royalty, and everyday Texans alike, with creations appearing in films, television, and popular culture. Manny Gammage even pops up by name in Clive Cussler's 1996 novel "Shock Wave" as the maker of the hero's prized hat. A Lone Star Dude model created for Willie Nelson around 1975 is enshrined at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The family invented signature styles of their own along the way, including the Hi-Roller and the Half-Breed.

And the everyday Texans matter as much as the famous ones. A custom hat from a shop like this outlives trends, trucks, and sometimes marriages.

Go see it

Lockhart is an easy case to make. It's a town known for barbecue, about 40 miles south of Austin — which means you can build a very good Saturday around brisket and a hat fitting. Make a day of it: eat too much, walk it off on the square, and stand in a shop where the same family has been shaping felt for a hundred years.

If a trip isn't in the cards, you can still fly the flag from wherever you are. Our Texas collection is full of designs made for people who love places like Lockhart, and the Texas State Pride Tee pairs nicely with a good hat and a plate of ribs.

Here's to the Gammages — and to the next hundred years.

Common questions

Where is Texas Hatters located?

The shop is in Lockhart, Texas, a barbecue town roughly 40 miles south of Austin.

Are the hats really made by hand?

Yes. Unlike most cowboy hats today, which come from highly automated assembly lines, Texas Hatters still uses the old-fashioned handcrafted method.

Who runs the shop now?

Joel Gammage, the fourth generation of hat-makers in the family, carrying on a tradition his great-grandfather Marvin started back in 1926.

Reported by Gilmer Mirror. Details as published at the time of writing.