Eugene’s saddle, chaps, and holsters were made by the AL. FURSTNOW Company in Miles City, Montana. The above image is of the company’s stamp on Eugene’s wooly chaps.

The company was founded by Al Furstnow in August of 1894. He had worked for his father and other saddle companies in Wyoming and Montana where he learned his craft. At the start, Al was the sole employee but he joined forces with Charlie Coggshall in December of that same year. Within a couple of years, they got a boost when they purchased the inventory of the Moran & W. J. Zimmerman Company. The saddlery was so successful that, for many years, they were the only major saddlemakers between Billings, Montana and Dickinson, North Dakota.

Furstnow and Coggshall initially made about 800 saddles a year. They also produced chaps, boots, hats, stirrups, and other products. Miles City was a well-known cattle town and the end-of-the trail for many cattle drives from Texas. Consequently, Furstnow and Coggshall had no shortage of business. As the company grew, they added workers to accommodate the demand. In 1916, they made 1,937 saddles and, between 1910-1930s, there were an estimated 40 saddlemakers in their employ.

Al Furstnow and Charlie Coggshall ended their partnership in 1899, but both continued to manufacture saddles. In 1925, Furstnow moved to California but the Furstnow Saddlery operated well beyond his death in 1925. Indeed, the AL. FURSTNOW SADDLERY was active from 1894 to 1982, nearly 88 years.

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To learn more about Eugene TenBrink’s saddle, please visit https://tinyurl.com/sv8ytcx5

To buy the book about Eugene’s time as a cowboy out West, please visit https://tinyurl.com/y66mauwj

Bibliography

Agri-News (1997) Furstnow Made the Saddle that Made Miles City Famous. September 25, Agri-News, Billings, Montana.

Al. Furstnow Saddlery Co. (1915) Illustrated Catalogue 31. Press of McGill-Warner Co., Miles City, Montana.

Miles City Saddlery (2022) History: Original Coggshall Saddles. Miles City Saddlery, Montana.