Cowboy Arts & Gear Museum

After his gemstone-studded saddle won a prize in the 1904 World’s Fair, G.S. Garcia became a sought-after name in riding gear. Courtesy of Travel Nevada

Shortly before the end of the 19th century, a California saddlemaker named Guadalupe Santiago Garcia arrived in Elko, believing he could turn a profit off his wares in the small Nevada ranching town. He was quickly proven correct. For nearly four decades, the G.S. Garcia Harness and Saddle Shop catered to the cowboys and vaqueros of northeastern Nevada. Garcia’s fame was magnified when he and his employees designed the “Garcia Beauty,” a black saddle studded with gold, silver, diamonds, and rubies that won a gold medal in the 1904 World’s Fair.

After Garcia passed away and his sons moved their family business back to California, the storefront fell into the hands of a local utilities provider. But in 2018, the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum opened its doors on the saddlemaker’s historic premises, its new ownership vowing to protect and preserve the craftsmanship of the American West.

Free to the public, the Arts & Gear Museum features the work of Garcia and his famous apprentice, J.M. Capriola, and all the saddles, spurs, bridle bits, reins, and boots a cowboy could wish for. Each year, the museum hosts a contest to honor the talents of craftspeople following in Garcia’s footsteps; entries are judged according to their functionality and appearance.

Any visitors keen to become artisans themselves should keep an eye out for classes and workshops at the museum where they can learn skills like silver engraving and rawhide branding.

Know Before You Go

If your museum visit piques your curiosity about the cowboys and girls of Elko, venture across the street to the Western Folklife Center, an exhibition and performance venue dedicated to the culture of the American West and home to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.