Frye Celebrates 150 Years

By Cator Sparks October 15, 2013

Frye boots have always been in the American vernacular when discussing the working man’s boot. Well, since March 10, 1863 that is. That’s when John Frye opened his shop on Elm Street in Marlboro, Massachusetts. The shoes were developed to ease the daily grind of hundreds of local factory workers and became a staple for laborers. When the homesteading adventures began out West, many men rode out in their Frye boots, which brought the company nation wide attention.

Each generation of Frye contributed to the company, rolling out footwear they saw a need for. Frye’s Harness boot came about way back then, inspired by the American Calvary and is still one of the most popular boots the company offers. It has a near cult fashion following.

In 1930 Frye’s grandson was in D.C. and met a U.S. Navy Admiral who couldn’t find a Wellington that suited him. Frye made a pair for him and continued making them through WWII.

These stories and many more can be found in the new book, Frye: The Boots that Made History, 150 years of Craftsmanship coming out October 22. The book is full of amazing ye ole pictures of the family (those Raccoon coats!), the factory and even a newspaper clipping of First Lady Jackie Kennedy and her Frye riding boots. There are also excellent images of the factory through the ages and advertisements that would make Don Drapper jealous as well as a fair share of scantily clad actresses bounding and bending in their boots.

While you are immersed in all things Frye, be sure to check out the 150th Anniversary collection on their site. We have our heart set on those Engineer boots for weekends in the country. Santa are you listening.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Cator Sparks was the Editor-in-Chief of The Manual from its launch in 2012 until 2018. Previously, Cator was covering…

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