ELKO—Inside the Cowboy Arts and Equipment Museum in downtown Elko, the entire center of the room is filled with western saddles made of decorated leather.
Executive Director Jan Petersen is eager to guide visitors to various elements of cowboy art, such as braided rawhide bridles, ornate metal pieces from the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering’s bit-making contest, and spurs in various stages of assembly. Impressive pen and ink drawings of horses and riders by Native American artist James Shoshone can be found in the rear of the museum.
“We’re a cowboy show and tell,” Petersen said.
As the former location of GS Garcia’s team shop, the museum building is a historical treasure in itself.
GS Garcia, whom Petersen describes as a “big job” manufacturer of bits, spurs and saddles, sometimes had as many as 22 people working upstairs. Museum expositions occupy the space of its former commercial part. The basement was GS Garcia’s place to assemble saddles.
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“He was born in Mexico, but his parents moved to Santa Margarita, California,” Petersen explained. “Growing up there, he learned the trade of the saddle. And on Thanksgiving weekend in 1893, he and his wife Sauternina came to Elko with a few trunks of tack and were just going to make a few quick sales.
“They sold everything in two days,” she noted.
“They had such a great time here and were so well received here that they moved here permanently in June 1894 and rented a little shop where the Ogi Deli is down the next block – and they did famously well there, so well that outgrew the building.”
At the time, Elko hosted the Central Pacific Railroad while also acting as a bustling ranching and mining community, making it prime terrain for a saddle shop.
In the late 1890s, GS Garcia leased a portion of the real estate at the corner of 6th and Commercial that had formerly been the Ocean Spray Saloon.
“It was there in 1904 that Mr. Garcia heard of a World’s Fair to be held in St. Louis, Missouri. And you can hire stall spaces and they have organized a competition for saddle makers.
GS Garcia won gold medals for the “Garcia Beauty” saddle, which is currently on display at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, Nevada. The statue of the horse used to display the saddle remained in Elko and currently stands in the display case of the Cowboy Arts and Equipment Museum.
In 1905, G.S. Garcia won two gold medals at the Lewis and Clark Centennial in Portland, Oregon.
“Through the social media of his time, which was newspapers, magazines and word of mouth, he became highly sought after for his work and business boomed,” Petersen explained.
GS Garcia established new headquarters in downtown Elko in 1907 and then moved to the present site of the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum in 1913.
“Things just blossomed from there,” Petersen said, noting that Garcia brought California rodeo traditions to Elko, building the Elko Rodeo grounds at the present-day location of Southside School. Famous side saddle rider and Cowgirl Hall of Famer Jane Reardon rode in these early rodeos that began in 1912.
GS Garcia died in 1933. But his family line kept the business thriving.
“The family continued to live here and they lived at the rodeo until 1938. Then they moved to Salinas.”
“The Garcia tradition at the store continued with sons Henry and Les. Henry had a store in Salinas. And Henry later had a shop in his home in Reno called Garcia Bits and Spurs that lasted several decades. In the late 1980s he sold his Garcia Bits and Spurs business to the JM Capriola Company, where he continues today.”
And as for the old building that belonged to GS Garcia, it was in good hands, being used as an NV Energy office before returning to its former western glory.
“NV Energy donated the building to us when they built their new building,” Petersen said, noting that they “wanted it restored to the way it looked when the Garcias were here. They knew the heritage of the building.
Petersen noted that the museum is hosting a reception during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. She pointed to the wall of past winners and lifted a metal cheek, explaining how the flat, rudimentary piece was shaped and decorated in a bit and then tested for functionality on a horse.
Elko’s cowboy story lives on thanks to Petersen’s efforts and is free for anyone to view.
