Fort Western Stores
| File:Fort Western Stores logo.png | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Carl & Shirley Wohlfarth |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 5 |
| Website | www |
The Fort is a Nebraska-based retailer operating through multiple channels, offering a wide array of western lifestyle products such as jeans, shirts, cowboy boots, hats, saddles and tack, vintage western apparel, workwear, and home decorations.
History
Fort Brands & The Fort Inc is a privately held family business founded in 1972 by Carl and Shirley Wohlfarth. The company’s origins trace back to the couple’s children’s passion for horses. When the tack store they regularly visited closed its doors, it inspired the Wohlfarth family to establish their own retail outlet.
The initial location was a modest one-room horse tack shop situated at 48th and Old Cheney Road in Lincoln, Nebraska. While managing the store part-time, Carl and Shirley maintained full-time jobs—Shirley as a nurse and Carl serving as a lieutenant with the Lincoln Fire Department. As demand increased, they expanded their inventory to include jeans and boots.
In 1987, the Lincoln store moved from its original site to the Alamo Center at 56th and Highway 2. This relocation transformed the tack shop from a single-room setup into one of the largest western retailers in the Midwest. Currently, the Lincoln location occupies more than 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) of retail space, featuring an extensive selection that now encompasses western jewelry, outerwear, belts, suits, home décor, collectibles, and furniture—all embodying the western lifestyle.
The store’s distinctive two-level layout includes an Old West Shop [1], which offers authentic reproductions of 19th-century historic cowboy apparel and accessories. The lower floor contains specialized sections such as a cowboy shop and workwear area. This vast product range coupled with unique interior design draws both casual shoppers and dedicated western lifestyle fans. Visitors come from across the nation to explore the store’s offerings; even country music icon Garth Brooks has been known to shop there.
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The Original Fort Western Store in Lincoln, NE, 1972-1987 -
Fort Western Outfitters Store in Lincoln, NE -
Fort Western Outpost in Nebraska City, NE
The “Fort Frontier” brand by Fort Western is associated with shooter and range boots frequently used in cowboy action shooting, available through their Old West Shop. Using a comparable approach, Fort Western created exclusive custom Nebraska Cornhusker boots that were hand-crafted and autographed by Nebraska Husker coaches. These special Husker boots were later auctioned at the 2009 Cattlemen's Ball to support cancer research.
In 1993, Fort Western expanded by opening a second retail location in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Covering 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2), this store ranks as Nebraska’s second-largest western outfitter. Nebraska City also serves as the base for Fort Western’s catalog operations. The catalog is published multiple times annually and distributed throughout all U.S. states as well as 12 international countries.
The year 2000 marked Fort Western’s entry into online retailing with the launch of their eCommerce platform complementing their existing brick-and-mortar and catalog sales channels. Today, Fort Western stands among the largest western wear outfitters within the Midwest region and continues to pursue growth through plans for additional retail outlets. In July 2012, they introduced a mobile-friendly version of their website.
A third retail store was inaugurated in November 2012 in Columbus, Nebraska. Spanning 11,000 square feet (1,022 m²), this new location represents a significant expansion for the Fort Western brand.