Thomas C. Molesworth was an American furniture designer who was a significant figure in the creation of a distinctly Western style of furniture and accessories, using hides, horn and natural wood. Molesworth's style drew from the Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

 and from vernacular design characteristics of western American ranches and farms. He is credited with popularizing the "cowboy furniture" style. To produce his designs, Molesworth operated the Shoshone Furniture Company from 1931 to 1961 in Cody, Wyoming

Cody, Wyoming

Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...

 with his wife, LaVerne Johnston Molesworth.

Molesworth was born in Kansas and attended the Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...

. He worked in Chicago for a furniture company, then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a corporal in France in 1917, having married LaVerne that year. Returning after the war, he worked in a bank in South Dakota, then managed the Rowe Furniture Company in Billings, Montana

Billings, Montana

Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...

. Molesworth moved his family, including LaVerne and his children Lee and Jean to Cody in 1931.

Molesworth's company and career received a major boost in 1933 when he was commissioned by publisher Moses Annenberg

Moses Annenberg

Moses "Moe" Louis Annenberg was an American newspaper publisher, who purchased The Philadelphia Inquirer, the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. in 1936. The Inquirer has the sixteenth largest average weekday U.S...

 to design the interior furnishings for Annenberg's Ranch A

Ranch A

Ranch A, near Beulah, Wyoming, was built as a vacation retreat for newspaper publisher Moses Annenberg. The original log ranch structures in Sand Creek Canyon were designed in the rustic style by architect Ray Ewing. The principal building, a large log lodge, was built in 1932...

 retreat near Beulah, Wyoming

Beulah, Wyoming

Beulah is an unincorporated community in eastern Crook County, Wyoming, United States, along a tributary of the Belle Fourche River. It lies along local roads near Interstate 90, northeast of the town of Sundance, the county seat of Crook County. Its elevation is 3,520 feet , and it is...

. Annenberg noticed Molesworth's work in the company's storefront in Cody and gave him the commission for the new ranch. Molesworth created 245 pieces of furniture for Ranch A, as well as lighting fixtures and accessories, choosing Navajo rugs and taxidermy to set off his designs. Many of the furnishings from Ranch A are conserved at the Wyoming State Museum

Wyoming State Museum

The Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is operated by the State of Wyoming as a repository for material concerning Wyoming history, art, natural history and fossils, industry, Native Americans, pioneers and its cultural heritage....

.

Molesworth furniture furnished the TE Ranch

T E Ranch Headquarters

The T E Ranch Headquarters, near Cody, Wyoming, is a log ranch house that belonged to Buffalo Bill Cody. The house may have originally been built by homesteader Bob Burns prior to 1895, when Cody acquired the ranch...

 in Cody, the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

, the Wort Hotel

Wort Hotel

The Wort Hotel was built in downtown Jackson, Wyoming by brothers John and Jess Wort, who were significant figures in the transformation of the economy of Jackson Hole from ranching to tourism. The somewhat Tudor-style building was the first luxury hotel in Jackson...

 in Jackson, Wyoming

Jackson, Wyoming

Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....

, the Pendleton Hotel in Pendleton, Oregon

Pendleton, Oregon

Pendleton is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Pendleton was named in 1868 by the county commissioners for George H. Pendleton, Democratic candidate for Vice-President in the 1864 presidential campaign. The population was 16,612 at the 2010 census...

, the Stockman's Hotel in Elko, Nevada

Elko, Nevada

Elko is a city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 18,297 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Elko County. The city straddles the Humboldt River....

 the Ferris Hotel in Rawlins, Wyoming

Rawlins, Wyoming

Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,538 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County...

  and the Northern Hotel in Billings. He sold individual pieces to a number of hotels in Wyoming and Montana. Other major Molesworth commissions include the Pahaska Tepee

Pahaska Tepee

Pahaska Tepee is William "Buffalo Bill" Cody’s old hunting lodge and hotel in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is located 50 miles west of the town of Cody and two miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Cody built Pahaska Tepee to accommodate tourists traveling up the Cody Road...

 Ski Lodge (burned 1942), the Old Lodge and the Sumers Lodge

Sumers Lodge

The Sumers Lodge in Glenwood Springs, Colorado is a rustic log house built in 1935 for New York financier George Sumers. It was designed by Chilson Aldrich, and some of its furnishings were designed and made by Thomas C. Molesworth....

 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

The City of Glenwood Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 8,564 in 2005...

, the Rockefeller ranch in Jackson, and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

's house in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...

.

Later in his career Molesworth was commissioned by Wyoming Governor Milward Simpson to make pieces for the Wyoming Historic Governor's Mansion

Wyoming Governor's Mansion

The Wyoming Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of Wyoming. The current mansion was built during 1976 and is located at 5001 Central Ave. in Cheyenne....

. After his death his work gained in popularity after the 1989 exhibition Interior West: The Craft and Style of Thomas Molesworth at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Buffalo Bill Historical Center

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a complex of museums displaying artifacts and art of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. Founded in 1917, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is the oldest museum in the West...

 in Cody and in 1990 at the Autry National Center

Autry National Center

The Autry National Center of the American West is an intercultural center and museum in Los Angeles, California that celebrates the diversity and history of the American West through three important institutions: the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of the American West, and the...

in Los Angeles.

External links

• Thomas C. Molesworth at the Wyoming State Museum