F.M. Light & Sons is Steamboat Springs’ historic clothing store and special place where customers enjoy a step back into the old west while browsing among many original fixtures from one hundred years ago.
Outfitting the West since 1905, F.M. Light & Sons is the oldest retail store in the area and is still owned and operated by the fourth generation of Lights, Ty and Del Lockhart. Their great grandfather, F.M. (Frank) Light (shown in the photo above with his horse), came to Steamboat Springs in 1905 from Hicksville, Ohio with his wife and seven children, deciding this was the spot he wanted to make his future home.
F.M. Light & Sons has remained at its original location at 830 Lincoln Avenue for over one hundred years. One might wonder why F.M. Light & Sons continues in business. There is a certain tradition to keep alive – not just from a personal standpoint, but for other people as well. There’s a certain sense of nostalgia about coming to Steamboat Springs and stopping at F.M. Light & Sons. Some customers return because they can remember seeing one of the Light brothers calling on their parents at the ranch in a panel truck and the excitement they experienced when packages arrived in their mail boxes a few days later. This is a part of our western heritage. The store has a certain sentimental connection with its clientele. It is comforting to old time customers to know the store is still doing business in its original location by the same family. It is equally comforting to the Lockhart’s to have long time friends and customers stop in to say hello.
The vision for F.M. Light & Sons is to keep changing with the times without losing its sense of identity. The ingenuity and perseverance shown by Frank and his sons Clarence, Day and Olin in building the business and the successes they made helped pave the way for the success the store experiences even today.
