How did the ten-gallon hat get its name and how much water can it hold?

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Karen Hill

The ten-gallon hat can hold about three quarts of water. So, how did it get its name, you may well ask?

Some say it was just a cowboy exaggeration about the size of the hat, but those who claim to know say that it’s because the hat was advertised as being big enough for 10 galions.

Galions are those braids that decorated the crown.

Regardless, what most people don’t know is that this classic cowboy hat style was first manufactured by John B. Stetson in that Wild West town of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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