Herman Joseph Justin (April 7, 1859 to July 14, 1918) was born in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

. Justin's father's profession, cigar making, didn't suit H. J., so he moved to Texas in 1877 at the age of 18. First settling in

Gainesville, Texas Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,002 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center. History Founded in 1850, the city of Gai ...

at a time when Indian raids from the

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as t ...

were just beginning to wane, Justin was first employed as a shoe repairman at a local Gainesville shop. After a few years working on shoes, he moved west to the fledgling town of Burlington, Texas (now Spanish Fort, Texas) in

Montague County, Texas Montague County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, established in 1857. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,965. The county seat is Montague. The county was created in 1857 and organized the next year. It is named ...

and opened a boot shop with a $35 loan from the local barber. The town he chose for relocation was ideal for a boot maker. Burlington was not only on the

Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cher ...

near the crossing of the Red River, but also served as a supply headquarters for cowboys and ranchers. In Burlington, Joe met and married Annie Allen, and in 1889 moved south to Nocona, Texas with their first son, John. Although successful in Spanish Fort, Joe knew that the business environment in Nocona would be more promising due to the newly constructed Missouri-Kansas-Texas railway and expanded market capacity. Once in Nocona and capitalizing on the larger market, Annie Justin, H.J.'s wife, developed a fit kit in the early 1890s, which included a tape measure and an instructions chart for taking one's measurements for a pair of custom fit boots. Cowboys carried the fit kits with them on their journeys, becoming Justin's first traveling sales force. In 1908, sons John and Earl came to work for their father, and the company was renamed H.J. Justin and Sons. In 1910, the company doubled its production utilizing new technology, and Justin boots were sold to 26 states,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

for $11 a pair. H. J. Justin and Sons continued to expand until the elder Justin's death in 1918. John and Earl took over the business after their father's death in 1918. In 1925, the brothers moved the company headquarters to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

to capitalize on that city's growth. John and Earl's sister,

Enid Justin Enid Justin (1893–1990), a native of Montague County, Texas, founded the Nocona Boot Company in the small community of Nocona. Family life Enid Justin married Julius Stelzer in 1915; the couple had a child in 1916. The baby girl, Anna Jo, di ...

, knowing that father H. J. would have wanted the boot company to remain in Nocona, opened her own business, the

Nocona Boot Company Nocona can refer to: * Nokoni, one of the Comanche bands * Peta Nocona, a Comanche chief * Nocona, Texas Nocona is a city along U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 175 in Montague County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,033 at the 201 ...

. Thus began the legend of quality and craftsmanship from one of the most famous boot-making families in the world. While Justin and Nocona have grown considerably since the early days in Burlington, the same principles passed down from H. J. to sons John and Earl and daughter Enid, still hold true. H.J. Justin said, "No boot shall ever bear the Justin brand unless it is the very best that can be produced from the standpoint of material, style and workmanship. It is my wish that I might leave behind me an institution which will uphold the standards and spirit of the true West."

References

* University of Texas Austin * Justin Brands

External links

Findagrave memorial for Herman Joseph Justin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justin, Herman Joseph 1859 births 1918 deaths People from Lafayette, Indiana People from Gainesville, Texas People from Montague County, Texas People from Nocona, Texas