Simmons

[ community & post office established 28 Sept 1898 - discontinued 15 May 1905 moved to Perry - reestablished 16 July 1906 - discontinued 30 April 1909 moved to Perry ]

Simmons was located on the Rocky Creek Rise area. The first recorded settlement was on Dec. 1, 1857 when John O. Wood received a land grant from the government. Ruben Jenkins received a land grant on April 2, 1860. Both land grants were for homesteading land in that particular area. The stores and businesses that located in the Rocky Creek Rise area were in the late 1890's and early 1900. W. E. Cox, Tom Simmons and Peter Ethington were the joint owners of a cotton gin, grist mill and a sawmill. A post office was established in Simmons in Sept 1898 and it was located in Tom Simmon's store. The store was located across from the Rise of Rocky Creek. Most of the people in the Simmons community were farmers and they brought their cotton to the gin to be packed in bales for marketing. The cotton was brought to the gin so that it could shake the seed out of the lint. It was then carried to the press and packaged in bales of 375 to 400 pounds and wrapped in burlap. The farmers would either carry it back to their farms to market or send in on freight wagons to Madison or Greenville for marketing.(from notes by June McLeod)

Tom Simmons was one of the principal characters who lived near the rise of Rocky Creek. In fact , it was known as the Simmons community at one point of history. He operated a cotton gin and a grist mill and also was a farmer.

J. T. Aman operated a general store at Simmons and later at what became known as Holmes Still crossing on the South Georgia Railroad. He was remembered also as having operated a grist mill. Many of his decendants lived in the Pine Grove area.