Fenoglio Boot Company

The company manufactures the James Montague boot line, employing skilled craftspeople who transform raw leather through 100 individual steps across ten specialized departments. Owner James Fenoglio emphasizes quality and domestic sourcing, with the company using predominantly American-made materials and maintaining traditional hand-stitching methods for decorative elements including beading, pull straps, and side welts. The Fenoglio Boot Company represents one of the last remaining domestic cowboy boot manufacturers in Texas, operating both production facilities and retail locations in Nocona.

Nocona, Texas earned recognition as "the leather goods capital of the Southwest," with bootmaking traditions extending to the 1800s when the town served as a significant stop along the historic Chisholm Trail. Cowboys traveling the trail would stop in Nocona to place custom boot orders, establishing the town's reputation for quality leather goods manufacturing.

The Fenoglio family first settled in Nocona in 1886, more than a century before entering the bootmaking industry. This long-standing community connection positioned them as natural inheritors of Nocona's bootmaking legacy when the original industry faced consolidation and closure in the late 1990s.

Nocona's bootmaking prominence was established primarily through the work of H.J. "Daddy Joe" Justin and his daughter Enid Justin, known as "Miss Enid," who founded Justin Boots and Nocona Boot Company respectively. Miss Enid Justin started her boot business in 1925 in a brick building off Main Street, creating an enterprise that would define Nocona's identity for decades.

The original Nocona Boot Company was acquired by the Justin brothers in 1990, and Justin Industries subsequently purchased the Nocona brand. In 1999, they closed the sprawling art deco-inspired factory that Miss Enid had built, ending an era of Nocona's bootmaking history and creating an opportunity for new manufacturers to continue the tradition.

Following the closure of the original Nocona Boot Company in 1999, the Fenoglio family established Fenoglio Boot Company to preserve Nocona's bootmaking heritage and prevent the complete loss of the town's defining industry. The company was founded under the leadership of James Fenoglio, who serves as owner and maintains the operation's focus on quality craftsmanship and traditional techniques.

In 2001, a group of experienced bootmakers in Nocona, along with several new participants, launched the Montague Boot Company in the same brick building off Main Street where Enid Justin had started her famous boot business in 1925. This initiative became integrated with Fenoglio Boot Company's operations, with the company now manufacturing the James Montague boot line as part of its product offerings.

The company's founding philosophy drew from Miss Enid Justin's business model while incorporating modern updates appropriate for contemporary manufacturing and market conditions. This approach balanced respect for traditional bootmaking techniques with necessary adaptations for operational efficiency and business sustainability.

Fenoglio Boot Company operates a comprehensive manufacturing facility in downtown Nocona employing 60 to 65 workers who produce approximately 40,000 pairs of boots annually. The production process involves ten separate departments, with each pair of boots passing through 100 individual steps from raw leather to finished product.

The factory produces roughly 200 pairs of boots daily, with nearly 800 pairs shipped weekly to Cavenders, a major western wear retailer. This production volume balances handcrafted quality with the scale necessary to maintain commercial viability, allowing the company to serve both retail customers and wholesale distribution partners.

The workforce includes multiple multi-generational families, with some employees possessing nearly 40 years of combined bootmaking experience. This continuity of skilled labor ensures that traditional techniques and quality standards are maintained and transmitted to newer craftspeople entering the trade.

Traditional hand-stitching methods are employed for decorative and functional elements including beading, pull straps, and side welts. These hand-finished details distinguish the company's products from mass-produced alternatives and reflect Nocona's heritage of quality craftsmanship.

Owner James Fenoglio emphasizes the company's commitment to quality materials and domestic sourcing, stating "We put a lot of detail in the quality. Mostly everything we use in our boots are made in the U.S." While leather is sourced globally to ensure access to appropriate hides, the company manufactures components domestically whenever possible.

This sourcing philosophy supports American manufacturing while ensuring that quality standards are met through material selection. The company's approach balances the realities of global leather markets with a commitment to domestic production and traditional manufacturing methods that have defined Nocona bootmaking for over a century.

Fenoglio Boot Company operates a retail location in downtown Nocona, allowing direct customer access to the company's products and providing a physical connection to the town's bootmaking heritage. This retail presence serves both local customers and visitors interested in purchasing boots directly from the source.

The company also maintains wholesale distribution partnerships, with significant volume shipped to Cavenders and other western wear retailers. This dual retail and wholesale approach provides market access while maintaining the direct customer relationships that have historically characterized Nocona's bootmaking industry.

Fenoglio Boot Company represents one of the last remaining domestic cowboy boot manufacturers in Texas, preserving manufacturing techniques and craft knowledge that risk being lost as production continues moving offshore. The company's continuation of Nocona's bootmaking tradition maintains both employment in the community and a tangible connection to the region's cowboy heritage.

By operating in the same building where Miss Enid Justin began her business in 1925, Fenoglio Boot Company provides physical and operational continuity with Nocona's bootmaking past. This connection to history, combined with the company's employment of skilled multi-generational craftspeople, positions Fenoglio as a custodian of traditional American bootmaking methods.