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In 1847 George Steele first came to America from Leeds, England and settled briefly in New York. He then moved to Nashville, TN., met up with William Miller and formed what was to become one of the largest private saddle building establishments in the southeast, Steele and Miller. There is an excellent history of the company in Ken Knopp's second book, “Saddle Makers of the Confederacy.”
This afternoon, I was fortunate to meet with George's great, great, grandson, Ed Steele at the 4th incarnation of the Steele Saddle Tree, Co. While it is tucked away in a very remote part of Cheatham County Tennessee, it was impressive to see several buildings dedicated to the building of saddle trees. It was also really something to see racks with literally hundreds of trees waiting for shipment. Ed was very friendly and we sat down in his office and he told me that he is already supplying a few McClellan trees for a couple of saddle makers. He told me that he has been in communication with others along this line with the most notable being Karl Pepper of Glenn Pier Depot. In fact, he said that he had an email from Karl that he needed to reply to as he was very serious about the possibilities.
As we sat there, Ed brought out different portions of trees that were still in rough, unfinished status and it was clear that they had been in a rotary device that removes the wood as it turns and follows a mold or master. The completed bars, cantle and pommel would then be fashioned together and shipped for finishing. This is where the challenge begins. Ed said flat out that he is definitely interested in this niche market because he is aware that there is now a great shortage of suppliers and he said clearly that he can copy any saddle tree that we want to make. But the thing is that he is a production shop and when he sets up to make them, he needs to make several and he does not have a person to do the final sanding/finishing which prepares them for painting and then covered in rawhide. He basically told me that if I wanted a second job or if my son did, then we might be in business. That is not an option for me at the moment, but given his need and desire to make and sell trees, and the need of many saddlemakers to get good trees (especially as we enter the 150's and reenacting interest grows) then I am certain that this will be something that will be solved. We closed by exchanging contact information and I told him that I would speak with Karl soon and see what direction he thinks it is going in and offered my services as a gopher or my saddle collection for models should he need either.
I promised you all that I would report my findings once I was able to visit the location. I am not sure where it will go from here but I am optimistic and will try to keep you updated as I find out more details.
regards,
Mark
This afternoon, I was fortunate to meet with George's great, great, grandson, Ed Steele at the 4th incarnation of the Steele Saddle Tree, Co. While it is tucked away in a very remote part of Cheatham County Tennessee, it was impressive to see several buildings dedicated to the building of saddle trees. It was also really something to see racks with literally hundreds of trees waiting for shipment. Ed was very friendly and we sat down in his office and he told me that he is already supplying a few McClellan trees for a couple of saddle makers. He told me that he has been in communication with others along this line with the most notable being Karl Pepper of Glenn Pier Depot. In fact, he said that he had an email from Karl that he needed to reply to as he was very serious about the possibilities.
As we sat there, Ed brought out different portions of trees that were still in rough, unfinished status and it was clear that they had been in a rotary device that removes the wood as it turns and follows a mold or master. The completed bars, cantle and pommel would then be fashioned together and shipped for finishing. This is where the challenge begins. Ed said flat out that he is definitely interested in this niche market because he is aware that there is now a great shortage of suppliers and he said clearly that he can copy any saddle tree that we want to make. But the thing is that he is a production shop and when he sets up to make them, he needs to make several and he does not have a person to do the final sanding/finishing which prepares them for painting and then covered in rawhide. He basically told me that if I wanted a second job or if my son did, then we might be in business. That is not an option for me at the moment, but given his need and desire to make and sell trees, and the need of many saddlemakers to get good trees (especially as we enter the 150's and reenacting interest grows) then I am certain that this will be something that will be solved. We closed by exchanging contact information and I told him that I would speak with Karl soon and see what direction he thinks it is going in and offered my services as a gopher or my saddle collection for models should he need either.
I promised you all that I would report my findings once I was able to visit the location. I am not sure where it will go from here but I am optimistic and will try to keep you updated as I find out more details.
regards,
Mark
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