OUR HERITAGE

Founded in 1976 by Pat Lynch, Western Heritage Company was little more than a hobby.  In the beginning, Pat was a Forest Ranger in Wyoming and was playing around with what to do with the busted Yale Locks they were finding around the Forest.  The idea of a keychain was the start.  These were gifts to his other friends in the Forest Service.  Those then turned into belt buckles, and more people wanted them.  Before anyone realized it, Western Heritage was becoming a real company and is now the manufacturer of the official uniform buckle for the U.S. Forest Service.  We produce hundreds of them a year.

In 2002, Pat retired from WHC, leaving it to his son Mike.  Mike then moved the company from Encampment, Wyoming, to Loveland, Colorado, growing the business.  After acquiring a one-of-a-kind casting machine originally built for NASA, our casting abilities really opened up for creating custom buckles.  

Today, we have over 3000 buckle designs that we have created and produced.  While the vast majority of our customers are the Federal Government's Natural Resource Agencies, we have been branching into new adventures with designs that are more appealing to the general public.   We have a small line dubbed "The Collection" that offers buckles with a far less specific feel that folks can order.  

​

We look forward to our 50th Anniversary next year, and to another 50 years of making custom belt buckles!

​

Cheers!

​