OLATHE, Kan. — Following the American Civil War, Olathe resident C.H. Hyer took boot making and marketing to the next level.
"An old, but new boot company," said Zach Lawless, CEO of Hyer Boots. "Our claim to the invention of the first cowboy boot is actually we’re the first to ever name and market a product as a "Cowboy Boot."
Originally marketed as two words, "Cow Boy" and later morphed into one "Cowboy ".
It was a revolutionary endeavor for Zach Lawless's great, great-grandfather, C.H. Hyer.
What Lawless told KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa set the trend for modern cowboy fashion: the pointed toe, raised heel, and scalloped top.
It was part of Lawless' forgotten family history, something Lawless uncovered in his uncle's basement.
"I found a picture of President Calvin Coolidge giving a speech at Mount Rushmore and a letter addressed to my grandmother... about two boxes full of stuff," Lawless said.
His grandmother, Nanette Hyer Bohl, told him their family lost the Hyer Boot Company in the 1970s to the bank.
"It was just a sore spot in the family," she told KSHB 41.
Lawless' natural curiosity led him down a rabbit hole, discovering the impact his ancestors had on the American West and Kansas City.
"The western terminus of the railroad was in Kansas," he said. "You had cowboys from all over the country, from Texas to Colorado, coming into Kansas, driving their cattle into Kansas so they could get loaded into the east coast," Lawless said. "That time period is often referred to as the golden age of cowboying, or the long-haul cattle drives of cowboying. That was all ending here in Kansas City, or Kansas, at different stockyards."
He also said big-name brands played a role in shaping westward expansion, including Lee Denim, Stetson Hats, and his family's company, Hyer Boots.
"It was really those cowboys, they get there, they drop off the cattle, they get paid, they resupply, and then they head back to wherever they came from," Lawless said.
Hyer Boots etched its place in the Western way of life.
Lawless told KSHB 41storied outlaws like Billy the Kid, who was said to have been wearing a pair of Hyer Boots when he died.
Movie stars, including Marilyn Monroe and Roy Rogers, along with country music legend Loretta Lynn, wore Hyer Boots.
"We had a really storied past with what we like to call the legends of the West," Lawless said proudly.
While Hyer Boots had a prominent past, tough financial times hit the family business in the 70s.
The last Hyer Boots were believed to have been made in the 1980s.
"It kind of got lost into the history of not only the Western industry, but also lost into the history of our family," Lawless explained.
Zach and his wife created a plan to get the trademark back.
After research revealed a large multinational corporation held the rights to the trademark, the couple called the corporation every Wednesday at 11 a.m. for 18 months. They would ask if the company would drop the trademark.
That day finally came in 2022. Lawless was able to relaunch the brand in 2023 and has grown the company to over 300 retailers nationwide.
2025 marks 150 years since C.H. Hyer began the company in 1875.
Hyer Boots hasn't fully re-introduced itself to Kansas City yet, something that makes this year more important.
The overall goal is to reinvigorate the cowboy history of Olathe and Kansas City.
"There is such an incredible history of Kansas City as a cow town from a cowboy culture perspective," he said. "And I feel like so much of it gets lost, and I think there's opportunity. We are planning to get connected with the city this year."
Hyer Boots are made in Mexico, but the company prides itself on its Kansas roots.
All boot products are named after Kansas towns, and Kansas City is all over the marketing.
It's one way Lawless sees opportunity in connecting the city to its past, while creating a sense of pride in something his family built over a century ago.
"I always think back on C.H. Hyer all the time and how cool it would be to do something in your life that is so meaningful. That three generations later, people are fighting to preserve exactly what it is that you built. I hope that he'd recognize how much that legacy still lasts today.”
The legacy lives on in its marketing, connecting the rich history of pioneers who wore the original brand and intertwining it with its current clientele.
Ask Nana and she'll tell you their family has something to smile about again.
"I'm excited to see life come back for Hyer," she said. "The western world seems to live on."
The company’s ultimate goal is to bring boot manufacturing back to the Kansas City area.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.