Thomas C Molesworth September 24, 2009

The natural beauty and vast open spaces of the West have always attracted adventurous souls. The American cowboy and the Native American Indians exemplify the West; both project simple, yet strong and powerful images. In the early to mid-1900s, cowboy furniture was nothing more than furniture made by cowboys for ranches. The furniture was sturdy and strong, yet relatively primitive and simple. In the 1930s one man had a vision to bring out the best of what was at the time a very crude craft. Inspired by the Arts & Crafts Movement, Thomas Molesworth began making furniture, experimenting with natural wood, leather, antlers, Indian weavings and different cowboy and Indian artifacts. Molesworth owned and operated the Shoshone Furniture Company from 1931 to 1961 in Cody, Wyoming. In 1933 Pennsylvania publishing magnate Moses Annenberg commissioned him to furnish his large retreat Ranch A near Beulah, Wyoming. Over the span of thirty years, Molesworth created hundreds, perhaps even thousands of pieces of rustic western furniture for local ranches, eastern plantations and hotels throughout Wyoming and Montana including the TE Ranch, Eisenhower's den and the Rockefeller Ranch.