Acme Boots was the name of a company that produced boots. It eventually just became a brand name, and was last owned by H.H. Brown, until it was placed under their Double-H Boots brand label.

Etymology

Acme (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') is

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

for "(highest) point, edge; peak of anything", being used in English with the meaning of "prime" or "the best", initially when referring to a period in someone's life and then extending to anything or anyone who reaches perfection in a certain regard.acme
at Merriam-Webster online. Accessed 19 Nov. 2022.

History

During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, two Chicago shoe manufacturers, Jessel Cohn and his son, Sidney, decided to move their children's and infants' shoemaking plant from

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...

. They set up their business in a two-story brick building on Crossland Avenue and called it the Acme Shoe Manufacturing Company. They hired 100 employees and began producing sandal-like footwear for children and infants under the name Just-Kids. The Cohns continued their children's business until 1935, when the senior Cohn returned home from a business trip to Texas. Shortly after, the Cohns dropped their children's footwear line in favor of making western boots and renamed the company Acme Boots. In the 1940s, Acme Boots became the largest maker of cowboy boots and remained the world's largest until the mid-1980s. Acme Boots has since been held by various corporations, including Arena Brands of Dallas, Texas, which licensed the Acme Brand to the Texas Boot Company of Lebanon, Tennessee, in 2000. In 2002, Texas Boot put the Acme Boot brand up for sale, where it was purchased by H.H. Brown, a subsidiary of

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

, and placed under the Double-H Boots brand label, where it remains today.

References

External links

H. H. Brown Corporate Division website
{{Berkshire Hathaway Shoe companies of the United States Clothing companies established in 1929 Companies based in Chicago Berkshire Hathaway 1929 establishments in Illinois Defunct companies based in Chicago