A Boot Collector Feature

Beck Cowboy Boots

Twin brothers founded this shop in 1916, and more than a century later it's still family-run, still in Amarillo, and still using a 40-penny nail in the shank.

The Story

Beck Cowboy Boots was founded in 1916 in Dalhart, Texas, by twin brothers Earl and Bearl Beck, and relocated to Amarillo in 1921, where it has operated ever since. More than a century later, the shop is still a family operation, currently run by a father-daughter team continuing the Becks' original approach. A Texas Monthly feature on the state's bootmakers noted the shop's reputation for working cowboy boots starting around $400 at the time, with a 10-to-12-week turnaround (five weeks for express orders) — and a notable past client in country legend Bob Wills.

What They're Known For

Handmade custom cowboy boots built from American-tanned leather using construction methods the shop traces back to the 1880s, including a 40-penny nail worked into the shank for arch support — a detail the Becks have kept standard for nearly a hundred years rather than updating with newer materials.