Reynolds/Molesworth Residence

Ward Nye, superintendent of Billings Public Schools, had this classic Craftsman style home built on speculation in 1916. It is likely he chose the design from a house plan catalog such as Sears, Roebuck & Co. The home’s exposed rafter ends, prominent knee braces, and small window in the gable end match the Sears “Winona bungalow” pattern. Nye sold the home to Frank B. and Florence Reynolds in 1918. Frank, a respected lawyer, became associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court in 1921 but fell ill and died in May 1922. Thomas and Laverne Molesworth purchased the home in 1923. Thomas managed the Rowe Furniture Company and Laverne was a homemaker. Thomas, who studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, learned the furniture business in Billings and in 1932 moved the family to Cody, Wyoming, to open the Shoshone Furniture Company. He gained fame with his distinctly Western “cowboy” furniture style, which incorporated hides, animal horns, and knotty tree trunks. Thomas's most famous commissions include Coca-Cola magnate Robert Woodruff’s TE Ranch, publishing mogul Moses Annenberg’s Ranch A, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s den.

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