Limpia Creek Custom Hat

When PRCA cowboy Cody Ohl waves his hat after a good roping time, it’s likely to be one made by Limpia Creek Custom Hat.

Fort Davis was this magazine’s pick for Texas’ best Wild West town last year, partly due to the great custom hats found at Limpia. Husband-and-wife team Kelly and Zol Owens are dedicated to making you a world champion hat, whether you’re an up-and-coming cowhand whose dream is to shoot out of a PRCA chute or a businessperson whose Western style has everyone turning their heads. The Owens don’t powder their hats, which can cause colors to bleed and stains to set. Instead, the natural beauty of each hand-creased hat shines, whether it’s sunny outside or the clouds are rolling in.

Kelly inherited her love of hat making from her father Ben Medley, who started the company in 1994. Six years later, she tutored under him and before she knew it, she was throwing her hat in as the new owner. Zol works at local ranches in his spare time, but both of them put in at least 60 hours a week on their craft, offering customers three hat qualities: 50 percent beaver/50 percent rabbit; eight-ounce weight 100 percent beaver; and lighter, six-ounce weight 100 percent beaver. Kelly never feels her hours are measured, though, as she thoroughly enjoys building custom hats.

She also cheers on the state’s working cowboys and cowgirls. Limpia sponsored the Working Ranch Cowboys Association World Finals in Amarillo in 2003 and 2004, and the San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Rodeo held in February of this year. She encourages the rodeos’ dedication to preserving the Western way of life. The company does its own part by collecting hats that show the evolution of cowboy headgear—the collection hangs proudly in Limpia’s shop.

We’re sure 100 years from now, more than a few of Limpia’s custom-made hats will be in the collection of an appreciative hat connoisseur.