Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
We can't step away from wearing cowboy boots here in Texas. (Mostly because they're what we're still stepping into.)
In a Texas of the past, a small town by the border was known as the Lone Star State's Boot Capital. In Mercedes, Texas' heyday, eight handmade boot craftsmen ran shops in town, shaping leather and hand-stitching custom western boots for visitors from far and wide. Life-sized sculptures of their boots are still planted up and down city sidewalks.
Today, Henry Camargo is the last bootmaker standing.
He uses no machines, computers, or AI in his craft. His family has passed and his friends are gone. With a generational leathercrafting skill that can't be taught, Camargo continues to handmake every pair of custom cowboy boots for new generations of Texans. Step into yesterday's Texas with us here at a TCR-- and allow it to help shape how we step into tomorrow's.
Camargo's Western Boots
710 W 2nd St
Mercedes, TX 78570
Phone: (956) 565-6457
Website: facebook.com/camargoboots
Texas Country Reporter
Episode #: 1967
Original air date: 5-10-2025
Hop in and follow us! 🇨🇱
Tik Tok â–ş tiktok.com/@texascountryreporter
Facebook â–ş facebook.com/TexasCountryReporter
Instagram â–ş instagram.com/texascountryreporter
We can't step away from wearing cowboy boots here in Texas. (Mostly because they're what we're still stepping into.)
In a Texas of the past, a small town by the border was known as the Lone Star State's Boot Capital. In Mercedes, Texas' heyday, eight handmade boot craftsmen ran shops in town, shaping leather and hand-stitching custom western boots for visitors from far and wide. Life-sized sculptures of their boots are still planted up and down city sidewalks.
Today, Henry Camargo is the last bootmaker standing.
He uses no machines, computers, or AI in his craft. His family has passed and his friends are gone. With a generational leathercrafting skill that can't be taught, Camargo continues to handmake every pair of custom cowboy boots for new generations of Texans. Step into yesterday's Texas with us here at a TCR-- and allow it to help shape how we step into tomorrow's.
Camargo's Western Boots
710 W 2nd St
Mercedes, TX 78570
Phone: (956) 565-6457
Website: facebook.com/camargoboots
Texas Country Reporter
Episode #: 1967
Original air date: 5-10-2025
Hop in and follow us! 🇨🇱
Tik Tok â–ş tiktok.com/@texascountryreporter
Facebook â–ş facebook.com/TexasCountryReporter
Instagram â–ş instagram.com/texascountryreporter
