OTO Beyond the Randalls
Ownership of the ranch passed on in 1934 to the Randall’s son Gay and Chan Libby, who had been coming through his teenage years to the ranch. Together they continued to operate as a guest ranch until 1938 when the Great Depression and coming of WWII took hold of the nation.
OTO Headboard and bedframe attributed to Thomas Molesworth. Photo taken November 26, 2022. View full-sized photo on Flickr.
(USDA Forest Service photo by Connie Constan.)During this time, they commissioned a number of furnishings from the iconic Western designer, Thomas Molesworth. Molesworth opened the Shoshone Furniture Company in Cody, Wyoming in 1931, and Randall and Libby were among his early customers. Molesworth’s rustic aesthetic gained popularity in renowned ranches and hotels across the West, and his use of stout wood, burled fir, and colorful leather set off by Navajo rugs and Pendleton blankets was a perfect fit with the ruggedness of the OTO. Among the pieces for the OTO were bed frames and tables emblazoned with geometric patterns and the OTO brand.
Through the decades that followed the ranch returned to its original role as a working cattle ranch and changed hands several times. In 1989, Randall’s conservation legacy was memorialized when the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) purchased the OTO ranch and in 1991, the U.S. Forest Service purchased the 3,265 acre property from RMEF with Land & Water Conservation Funds, to preserve the land as prime wildlife habitat.
Today, the old homestead on Cedar Creek still shows the hand of cultivation with irrigation ditches, apple trees, and lilacs that bloom soft purple every spring. Though the original homestead house, barn and 1905 bunk house have collapsed over time, their log walls still outline the early story of the ranch.
Nearby, the Randalls’ 1898 barn still stands, while the 1950 Shields House, built in a later era of ranch history, serves as a cook house when the OTO is used.
Wooden Wagon in front yard of OTO Lodge, photo taken August 11, 2013. At the OTO Ranch on the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana. View full-sized photo on Flickr.
(Courtesy photo by Preserve Montana.)
The 1950s Shields Cabin on Cedar Creek, photo taken September 28, 2018. At the OTO Ranch on the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana. View full-sized photo on Flickr.
(Courtesy photo by Preserve Montana.)
OTO 1898 Barn, photo taken September 28, 2018. At the OTO Ranch on the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana. Courtesy photo by Preserve Montana. View full-sized photo on Flickr.
(Courtesy photo by Preserve Montana.)