Cousin of Wyatt Earp Has Been Running a Barbershop in Florence, Texas for 4 Decades

All photos by Jason Weingart

Main Street in the small town of Florence, Texas, can give you a bit of the feel of standing in the Wild West. Maybe it’s because of the blazing hot summers or the buildings, which house a dozen or so businesses, which were built in the early nineteen hundreds. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that Warren Earp, the cousin of Wyatt Earp, has been running an old fashion barbershop, Florence Hair Emporium, since 1980.

Warren is from the bloodline of the brother of Wyatt Earp’s father.

My son and I visit Warren to get our ears lowered every couple of weeks. You can tell he has been doing this for a very long time. He is definitely able to read his customer’s mood. Some days I’m lost in thought and not feeling entirely chatty, so other than the pleasantries, I sit in silence while he works without forcing conversation. Other days, one of us has an interesting story about family or life and we have a long talk while he perfects that day’s haircuts.

In between customers, Warren passes the time playing his Les Paul.

When I asked Warren if he had any crazy stories from nearly 40 years of cutting hair in a small Texas town, he replied with a laugh, “No, I just come to work every day and do my thing.”

Some of my most cherished memories from childhood are from trips to the barbershop with my grandfather. In a world of beauty salons and large chains, it’s great to be able to take my son to the barbershop and get his haircut the same way I did when I was a kid. But definitely styled better from my friend, Warren. Sorry, Archie.