The saddle is AT LEAST 124 years old! Like I said at least, It is anywhere from 123-134
Heres what we know because of the saddle stamp!
Frank
Meanea was a well known and very respected saddle maker in Cheyenne,
Wyoming in the late 1800s up to 1928. Cowboys coveted Meanea gear and
considered anyone being able to afford to ride a Meanea saddle a top
hand drawing top wages.
The saddle was made somewhere between 1881 when Frank Meanea
started using his maker's mark with "WT" on it and 1891 when he changed
it to "WYO". The "WT" is for "Wyoming Territories" before it became a state in 1890.
Its pretty cool to know we have an amazing part of history this saddle has been through many things. Its still in really good condition, its pretty neat, saddles never used to have sheepskin or fleace on the bottom, they used to have cow or horse hair, I believe ours is horse hair, but its kinda interesting to see how different it is, it has a really deep seat, saddles weren't really made for comfort until Frank Meanea started making saddles, and it IS REALLY COMFY! It is one of the most comfortable saddles I have sat in that isn't padded in the seat. It is so cool to have this saddle!
Were did you find this treasure? Will you be using it or keeping it just as a "special find"?
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents gave it to me, it was given to them by my "uncle" Carl (hes not blood related, but he was very much like an uncle to me, he died somewhere around 90 when I was about 3 but I remember him) were not sure where he got it, but its an amazing piece of history, were going to keep it for sure, but were not going to use it were still trying to find out more about it and were talking to someone who knows more about saddles than we do. But it is for sure not going anywhere
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