(Used with permission)
Gottlieb Heinrich/Henry Schoellkopf was born in Germany on September 23, 1849. He came to the United States when he was a youth of 14. A newspaper article in the Amarillo Daily News of June 18. 1940 recounted his early days. Not long after the Civil War, G. H. Schoellkopf had come to Texas in the late 1860s, looking to acquire bison hides for a company of tanners and robe makers (possibly a company run by an uncle or some other relative) out of New York. He set up his first location at a former trading post in Indianola on the Gulf Coast. From there he began to travel around the state and into Mexico looking for hides. The article says Schoellkopf was impressed by the potential of the area and felt like there was an opportunity for him to operate his own business. He was motivated to stay in Texas after a storm hit the area and the waters, either a tidal wave or storm surge, destroyed his business. It would only be a few years later when the first of two monster storms would essentially wipe out Indianola, but this storm was large enough. Schoellkopf took the opportunity to relocate to Dallas, then a small trading village, in 1869.
Once in Dallas, he set up a harness and saddlery shop in a small frame home in 1869. The business soon outgrew this shop and was moved to a two story brick building. It was not long before that location was also too small. Schoellkopf built a new three story home of brick and native stone. All of these locations were in the downtown area which was rapidly developing. The company first dealt in leather goods. It rapidly became known for its saddle, tack, scabbards, gun leather and other products. For a short while, it was the only saddlery business in Texas, though other companies sprang up and began to produce leather products as well.
One of the early Schoellkopf big selling named products was called the “Famous Jumbo Brand” saddle. This brand developed into one of its early trademarks. Another one of its trademarks was a drawing of a white elephant wearing a saddle and standing atop a globe. In addition to working and riding saddles of different types and sizes, the company made fancy mounted parade saddles that could be decorated with silver and other metal tooling. Examples of Schoellkopf saddles may still be found in collections and occasionally for sale. The company built its own downtown Dallas building in 1904, with an address of 806 to 814 Jackson Street. It was an attractive building that stood 9 stories tall.
For many years, saddles were a key part of the company’s sales. The 1940 article mentions a Texas stock saddle as being a popular product that was shipped all over the country. Annual output of Schoellkopf saddles at that time was still significant, about 4,000 units per year, ranging in price from $90 to $600. The article described production as being by the “craftsman” method. Tooling was done by hand or by machine in the less expensive saddles. A good “saddle hand” could turn out as many as six completed units in one week, with the more expensive models taking somewhat longer.
The method was described as follows. The artisan would start with steer hide, tooled and tanned. The hides came from the southern and western states with buckles and ornamentation supplied by New England factories. The work would begin by first covering the saddle horn and seat with the moistened leather. The rest of the process was said to be similar to making a pair of shoes, stitching parts together until the job was complete. Sales were said to extend throughout the western hemisphere with customers ranging from working cowboys to celebrities and other well known individuals.
G. H. had married the former Hedwig “Hattie” Boll in 1878. Hattie had been born in Switzerland and was the daughter of Jacob and Henrietta Humbel Boll. Hattie’s father Jacob was one of the original European La Reunion colonists, members of the unsuccessful communal organization who settled in Dallas County in the mid 1800s. After the community failed, some settlers drifted away while others remained. Professor Boll, as he was called, became a well known naturalist and entomologist. At least for some time, he was engaged by a Pennsylvania scientist to do research in North Texas. Jacob Boll was credited for having discovered thirty-two species of Permian vertebrates. Professor Boll died at the age of 56 in Wilbarger County while on one of his research trips.
Over the next years, seven children were born to Hattie and G. H. Schoellkopf: Jacob Fred, Hugo William, Frieda, Elsa Caroline, Emma, Vallerie and George Henry. Several of the children became active in the business. Hattie was quite involved in the community and in her church, St. Paul’s German Evangelical Church. The name of the congregation has since changed, but it still is active. She died in 1901 of cancer at her home, possibly then located at 118 Greenwood Street. The city numbering system has changed. The home is no longer there, but the street is about one block long and is located south of the intersection of Live Oak and Washington. Hattie was 46 years old when she passed.
The Schoellkopf Company branched out to marketing a variety of wholesale lines in addition to its saddle and harness products. Articles and advertisements began to mention Pennzoil lubricants, Kenyon tires and Kolster radios. Kolster “tombstone” table-top radios represented a style that was popular back in the day. The company had dozens of salesmen and warehouses/stores in numerous other towns, although Dallas was the primary headquarters.
More from the 1940 Amarillo Daily News article: As the automobile gradually became more common, the company began to add motor vehicle accessories to its products. Open cars needed tops and side curtains. The company also manufactured seat covers. The article also mentions that the company built batteries. In the early years of television, their advertisements included marketing various models of CBS Columbia television sets promoted using the likeness of early personality Arthur Godfrey.
As noted, Hattie Boll Schoellkopf passed away in 1901. G. H. Schoellkopf died in 1926. Both are buried in Greenwood Cemetery near downtown. The company is believed to have later diversified into real estate. There is no longer a Texas taxable entity with the exact name of The Schoellkopf Company. The date that the operating company ceased its wholesale operations is not yet known. Today the building might have been preserved and restored for use as commercial or residential property, but the building was demolished in 1977 and is used as a parking lot.
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