Colorado Tent Company has been making canvas tents in Denver, Colorado since 1890. We have survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, a dozen recessions, and the rise of cheap synthetic alternatives. We are still here because the people who depend on their gear in the field — outfitters, hunters, ranchers, scout leaders, and glamping operators — still need something that works.
This is not a brand story. It is a manufacturing story. And it is still being written.
135 Years — A Brief History
Founded by Alfred Proctor
Alfred Proctor opens The Denver Tent and Awning Company at 1428–1438 Larimer Street, Denver. The company manufactures canvas tents, awnings, and fabric goods for the rapidly growing American West — ranchers, prospectors, military contracts, and anyone who needs reliable shelter. Denver is a frontier city; canvas is the material of the moment.
Colorado Tent & Awning Co. Founded
Robert S. Gutshall founds The Colorado Tent & Awning Company at 1634–1646 Lawrence Street, Denver. Robert serves as President; Isaac Gutshall as Treasurer. The two companies operate as separate Denver canvas manufacturers, each building their own reputation and customer base.
"The Largest Duck Goods House in the West"
Colorado Tent & Awning publishes Catalogue No. 8 in 1907, bearing the tagline that defines an era: "The Largest Duck Goods House in the West." The catalogs — illustrated, hand-lettered, and sent across the region — show an operation at full stride: wall tents, range tents, awnings, military contracts, and custom canvas goods for every commercial purpose imaginable. We still keep those catalogs. The 1907 tagline is still ours.
Peak Operations — Denver Manufacturing at Scale
The Denver facility reaches peak production — a full manufacturing floor of sewers working canvas for hunting operations, military outfitters, scout programs, and commercial agriculture across the American West. The Davis family is part of this operation during its peak years. The skill and institutional knowledge built in this era forms the foundation of what the shop knows today.
Acquisitions & Expansion
Over the decades, Denver Tent acquired several regional canvas manufacturers, broadening both the product line and the institutional knowledge of the shop. These included The Brooks Tent and Awning Company — adding the Brooks Square Umbrella Tent to the catalog — and Camp-Lite Products, Inc., which contributed the Ins-Tent Shelter Tent (later renamed the Denver Backpack/Trail Tent). Most significantly, Denver Tent eventually acquired The Colorado Tent and Awning Company itself, merging the two historic Denver canvas manufacturers under one roof and uniting the "Colorado" product line with the Denver manufacturing operation.
The ArctiCreel — Belgian Linen, Patent 1947
The ArctiCreel evaporative fishing creel is developed and patented in 1947 (U.S. Patent No. 2,555,128). A Belgian linen creel that uses evaporation to keep catches fresh without ice — a simple, brilliant application of canvas science to fishing. It is carried by Orvis and L.L. Bean for decades. We still make it. It still works. The design has not changed.
New Ownership — Same Craft
Harlan and Karah Hummer acquire Colorado Tent Company, recognizing the value of one of the last remaining American canvas manufacturers operating at scale. The vision: preserve the craft, build on the legacy, and position Colorado Tent Company as the category-defining premium brand it has always deserved to be. The shop continues without interruption. The team continues. The standards continue. The same craft, forward.
10975 E. 55th Ave., Unit D — Denver, Colorado 80239
Colorado Tent Company manufactures from our Denver facility. Every tent is made to order — cut, sewn, and inspected by hand before shipping. We serve outfitters, glamping operators, scout programs, camps, commercial clients including United Airlines and FedEx, and the individual hunter or rancher who needs gear that works for decades. We have supplied canvas industrial products to construction and agriculture for over 130 years. We are not going anywhere.
The People Behind Every Tent
Portrait in Denver shop
Chris Davis
Chris Davis is the third generation of his family to work in this shop. His grandfather was part of the Denver manufacturing operation during its 1950s and 1960s peak — the era when this facility ran at full capacity producing canvas for outfitters and military contracts across the West. Chris grew up with this craft in his family's history.
Today, as COO, Chris is on the manufacturing floor every day — measuring, cutting, consulting on custom orders, working directly with clients on specifications, and developing new techniques alongside our sewing team. When a customer calls with a complex custom request, they are likely talking to Chris. When a new product needs to be prototyped, Chris is at the table. The institutional knowledge of 135 years lives, in large part, in how he works.
At work in Denver shop
Tim Perez
Tim Perez has more than 30 years of experience in tent manufacturing. Every product that leaves this facility passes through Tim's hands — he measures and cuts every tent we make before handing it off to our sewing team. In an industry that has largely abandoned this level of individual accountability, Tim's role is a direct expression of what "handmade" actually means.
The institutional knowledge Tim carries — the muscle memory for how canvas behaves, how seams hold under load, how a given tent size needs to be cut for a particular frame — cannot be found in a manual. It is earned across decades of making things, and it is the difference between a tent that lasts and one that does not.
Our sewing team — Lydia, Maria, Loyda, and Fabiola — brings more than 60 years of combined large-textile sewing experience. Every tent is sewn by hand. No two tents are exactly the same. The quality of every tent is consistent because the people making them have spent their careers making them. We are a small team, and that is not a constraint — it is the point.
How Every Tent Is Made
Wide landscape format, Denver facility
Made to Order
Every tent we make is cut and sewn after your order is placed. We do not hold pre-built inventory. This means your tent is made to your exact specifications — size, material, and configuration — by the same hands that have made every tent before it. Lead time is currently 3–6 weeks.
10.10 oz Sunforger® Canvas
Our canvas tents are made from 10.10 oz Sunforger® marine-grade cotton duck — mold, mildew, and water resistant. When cotton duck gets wet, the fibers swell and the weave tightens, making the fabric more waterproof over time. We do not recommend waterproofing treatments because they seal the canvas and prevent breathing, which causes condensation.
WeatherMax® 80
Our Colorado Lodge and select products are made from WeatherMax® 80 — a solution-dyed polyester originally engineered for armed forces and marine applications. 36% lighter than canvas and up to 6× more abrasion resistant. Welded and taped seams eliminate needle holes entirely. No coatings. No PVC. 100% recyclable. Trusted by NOAA for extreme-weather deployments.
Lifetime Warranty
Every Colorado Tent Company product is backed by our lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. We have been making and standing behind our products for 135 years. If something is wrong with how we made it, we will make it right. See warranty details.
Press & Recognition
We did not pitch any of these. They found us because of 135 years of doing things right.
How It's Made
Our Denver manufacturing floor and the handcraft behind every tent — featured on one of Discovery's longest-running series.
This Built America
Colorado Tent Company's 135-year story featured as part of Ford's American manufacturing heritage series.
with Dennis Quaid
Featured in ViewPoint's exploration of American craftspeople and the brands that have stood the test of time.
Trusted By
"The Largest Duck Goods House in the West."
We are still earning it. Every tent. Every stitch. Handmade in Denver, Colorado.