Fenoglio Boot Company

Nocona, Texas, has a history in bootmaking that dates to the late nineteenth century. H.J. "Daddy Joe" Justin moved his boot business to Nocona in the early twentieth century, after which the town became linked with cowboy boot production. In 1925, Enid Justin started the Nocona Boot Company in the same town.

The Nocona Boot Company closed in 1999. The Fenoglio family, who have lived in Nocona since 1886, established the Fenoglio Boot Company in 2001. The founding of the new company continued the local tradition of bootmaking.

The Fenoglio Boot Company operates a 20,000-square-foot factory in Nocona, Texas. The workforce numbers between 60 and 65 employees, with many employees having several decades of experience in boot production. The factory manufactures about 200 to 250 pairs of boots each day, which results in a yearly output of about 40,000 pairs.

Fenoglio boots are made using traditional methods, with all-leather outsoles, insoles, and stacked leather heels. Lemonwood pegs are used in construction. The company sources different types of leathers, including cowhide, goat, pig, ostrich, caiman, alligator, teju lizard, stingray, arapaima, elephant, python, and rattlesnake. Most non-exotic leathers are sourced from Mexico, while exotic leathers are procured from global suppliers, including ostrich from South Africa and python from Singapore.

Fenoglio Boot Company manufactures cowboy boots for men and women, and offers custom design choices with variable leathers, toe shapes, stitching, and heel designs. The company also produces private label boots for retailers such as Cavender's. Price ranges are determined by materials, with non-exotic boots priced from about $200, smooth ostrich at $225, full quill ostrich at $400, caiman at $500, elephant at $350, and arapaima at $550.