Sims, Montgomery Co. AR
Sims, Montgomery Co. AR
Sims is located in Montgomery Co. AR 68 miles west of Little Rock. Named after William Perry Sims who owned the first store in the area. Today Sims does not have a general store but has a Post Office, fire station, the Sims Baptist Church built a few years ago, a few homes and a stop sign. Half the old school building remains, the building with the rusty red tin roof. Today the children have the option of attending Oden or Mt Ida as school buses run from both schools and turn around at Sims. The Lone Valley Church of God and Cemetery are located on Highway 88 just less than a mile east of the stop sign. The barn is just west of Sims.
Sims, Dec. 2007.
Sims School around 1948-49 with Patsy Bradley and
Darrel Baker (the teacher) and probably taken by Jeff Bradley
Image courtesy of Karen
Meredith.
In 2000 only half the Sims school building remains. This is right
end view.
Was the John Merchant, grocery store. He opened the store in 1945 and on
the rough board shelves carried canned foods, sugar, flour, medicines, feed,
tobacco and more. Torn down in 2011.
Dec. 2007 side view of the above school house.
Many of the stores in Sims have had different owners over the years. Sam Hardin had a store in the 1920s. John Merchant ran a store in Sims near the other businesses, long before taking over the old school building which was once a two story school. Frank Kilby was a teacher who taught in the upstairs part. Sebe Posey had the post office at his grist mill in about 1915-1920 which was located at almost exactly the same spot the post office building was located in the color photo below. There is a brook there, source is a natural spring, and the spring was a source of drinking water for the school kids in the 1900s. Sebe also used the spring for his mill. After Sebe died, Ben and Lessie Curtis ran the store that Sebe had there at Sims.
Post Office photos courtesy of Doug Anderson taken June 25, 1971
Sims Post Office in the 1950s when it was located about 50 yards south of the present day fire house (2001). The second was taken in 1975 after the building had been moved to a property, about 300 yards or so west and on the opposite side of the highway from its former location.
The post office was first located in various stores and businesses in and
around Sims. When Zona Whisenhunt became Postmaster in 1948, she rented space
for the post office in the 
Ransom West general store which was located
at the present day site of the residence of Alma Hatton (white house in
the corner of the road which is directly north across the Sims
"loop" (Barber) road from the present day fire house). Later, in the
early 1950s she had a new building constructed for the post office which was
located about 50 yards south of the present day fire house on the east side of
Hwy. 88 (that's the location in the b&w photo). Woodrow and Zona
Whisenhunt later had the building moved onto their own property and that
is where it is located in the color photo. The post office was there until
shortly after Zona retired in 1980 when the Postal Service built a new
building at its present location beside the Baptist church. The old building
remained on the Whisenhunt property and was used by them as a storage building
until it was torn down in the mid 1990s.
Behind the post office building in the color photo about half way between the building and that section of white fence that you can see, there is a persimmon tree standing, which is the tree to the right. Right near that persimmon tree is where the old Sims school used to be in the early 1900s. Information and photos courtesy of Doug Anderson.
Websites : Larkin Sims
Summit
Jess & Cecile (Johnson) Sims, married in Arkansas, four children: James Vernon,
Verena, George Verliss, Virginia. Moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Buried Paola,
Kansas.
Sims connections
Wm P. Sims and his
brother Jordan Sims both served in
the 'Caddo Riffles'. Wm P. was wounded at
in the Battle of Bunker Hill, shot through the left shoulder and out under the
left shoulder blade. Jordan and William signed the
amnesty oath taken in Montgomery Co. AR. Jordan signed Oct 30. 1865. and
William signed July 31, 1866 but they signed their name as Symes. Wm
P. returned to South Carolina after the war and saw there was nothing left so
headed back to Arkansas in 1870 with Jordan and two sisters and homesteaded
near a ford on the Ouachita
River.
1860 Census - United States Arkansas Montgomery Co. Big Fork Twp Chrystal Hill P.O. Enumerated 28 day of June Dw# Fm# Name Age Sex Occ. Born 179 166 SIMMS Wm 56 M Farmer SC " Jane 53 F SC " Matilda 29 F SC " James 27 M Farm Labour SC " Lorenzo 25 M Farm Labour SC " Wm Perry 22 M Farm Labour SC " Jordan 20 M Farm Labour SC " Louisa 18 F SC " Nancy 15 F SC " Ara M 12 F SC
1860 Census Montgomery Co. AR Big Fork Twp page 867: 181 168 DEES Robert 37 Miss " Sarah 36 F Miss " Mary E 18 F Ala (m. William Syms 1867) " James 7 M AR " Oliver 4 M " Susan 2 F " Lorenzo 23 M SC William SIMS was born c.1804 at South Carolina m. Jennie. Children: Mary SIMS b. abt 1827 SC m 1) John Fryar age 26 June 12, 1857, 2) ?Rankins Drucilla SIMS b. abt 1829 SC m William Wehunt Sept. 13, 1857 Matilda SIMS b. abt 1831 SC m John Fryar age 45 Nov. 25, 1874 James SIMS b. abt 1833 SC Lorenzo SIMS b. abt 1835 SC William Perry SIMS b. abt 1838 SC m 1)Mary Elizabeth Dees Jan 24, 1867 2) Agusta Bates Sept. 20, 1871 3) Martha Alameda McConnell Copeland. Jordon SIMS b. abt 1840 SC m Nancy M. He is buried Hillside Cemt. Mont. Co. AR Lucinda Eliz. SIMS b. abt 1842 SC m W. G. Willhite Sept. 16, 1874 Nancy Jane SIMS b. abt 1845 SC m Samuel Lock Mar. 26, 1868 (Before 1900 it was Lock & for reasons unknown they picked up the "E"}) Ara Malinda SIMS b. abt 1848 SC m 1)Robert Dees age 46 Dec. 23,1866 2) Lorenzo Dowel Willhite (Ara and Dow buried at Willhite (Sims)Cemetery Sarah Jane SIMS m Levi Reed both buried at the Willhite (Sims) Cemetery
The heirs list for the homestead in 1886 after the death of Jennie, it reads as follows: I, Jordan Sims, one of the heirs of Jennie Sims, deceased who make homestead entry of the SE4 of SW4 + SW4 of SE4 section 9 twp. of range 27 west, subject to entry at Camden, Ark.........that said Jennie Sims was a citizen of US and a widow at the date of making said entry, that she residenced upon and cultivated said land since the year 1856 till
about Jan. 1882 at which time she died leaving the following named heirs to wit: Mary RANKINS, Drucilla WEHUNT, Matilda FRYAR, Sarah REED, William P. SIMS, Jordan SIMS, Elizabeth WILLHITE, Aar WILLHITE, & Nancy J. LOCKE, all of whom have arrived at full age and that Matilda FRYAR, one of the said heirs and her husband, John FRYAR, have continued to reside upon and cultivate said land since the death of the said Jennie SIMS......etc.
Sims - photo of Rocky
School house
Montgomery County
ArkansasGenWeb Project
