Thomas O. Larson was born in Norway on November 27, 1874, the second of nine children of Ole and Annie Larson. The family moved to the United States in 1880 and settled on a farm in Benton County, Minnesota. In the summer of 1895 Thomas opened a small store at Burton in Teton County, Montana. The following two years he operated a stage line between Collins and Choteau. He then went into ranching, raising cattle, horses, sheep, and wheat on a desert land claim half way between Choteau and Bynum. He was involved in the Teton Co-operative Reservoir Company, the Brady Townsite Company, and the Brady Irrigation Company. He served two terms as president of the Montana Wool Growers Association, and one term as president of the Montana Livestock Production Credit Association. Larson was also active in Republican politics. He served as assessor of Teton County from 1900 to 1904, was in the state Senate from 1911 to 1921 and from 1927 to 1937, and ran for the U.S. Senate in 1936. While in the Legislature, Larson sponsored the bill splitting Teton County into three counties; introduced the first Blue Sky Law, regulating the sale of stocks; and helped establish the 19th Judicial District. Larson was active in several fraternal orders, including the Masons, the Knights Templar, the Helena Consistory of the Scottish Rite, the Algeria Shrine Temple, the Red Cross of Constantine, and the Royal Order of Jesters. Larson married Helen Stowe in 1902. They had two daughters Alva Gertrude and Harriet Helen. Alva married Wilfred Armstrong, who succeeded Larson in managing the ranch; Harriett married the noted Choteau author A.B. Guthrie Jr. Thomas O. Larson died March 18, 1958.