Thomas and Thomas began in Beltsville, MD as a hobby by Thomas Dorsey and Thomas Maxwell (Dorsey's brother-in-law). In 1968 Tom and Tom become Thomas & Thomas Rodmakers. In 1969 (with the company name taking the first names of the original principals) the company established itself in Chambersburg, PA. In 1972 Tom and Tom purchased manufacturing equipment and a factory building from rod maker Sewell N. Dunton and moved T&T to Greenfield, MA. T&T took Len Codella as a partner in 1974 and the three moved the business to 22 Third Street, Turners Falls, MA where the company remained until September 1993. Codella and Dorsey bought out Maxwell in 1977 and the two remained partners until selling the company on March 27, 1986 to P. J. Carroll Co., an Irish corporation. Dorsey and Codella continued to run the company for Carroll until 1991. Thomas Dorsey and Maxell founded T&T by produced bamboo fly rods that continue to be considered legendary. The bamboo rods are still produced today and are considered by many to be the finest examples of engineering and craftsmenship in the world. Given as gifts for heads of state and captains of industry the T&T bamboo rod is prized by anglers around the world. With outstanding industry success in Bamboo it was Tom Dorsey who realized the potential of graphite and in 1977 he designed and build the first T&T graphite rod. In March 1991 the company was sold to Lon Deckard of Cincinnati, OH. Len Codella left the company to engage in a new business of his own, and Dorsey remained as rod builder/designer. Thomas & Thomas has enjoyed two Presidential Commissions; a bamboo rod purchased by the State Department in 1981 as President Reagan's gift to Australian Prime Minister Malcom Frazer, and another commission in 1982 for two matching bamboo rods presented by President Reagan to Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales. Today T&T employs 25 people in their Greenfield MA factory. Each dedicated member of the team helps to produce the finest bamboo and graphite rods on the planet.