Simmons House
Sweetwater, Nolan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Robert Mosby Simmons (1887-1955), noted civic leader and president of the Sweetwater Cotton Oil Company for many years, originally built this house as a one-story structure in 1919. In 1934-35 he hired architect Anton Korn of Dallas to remodel it into its present two-story configuration. The Spanish Colonial Revival home features a barrel tile roof, bracketed soffits, bow window, and Classical frontispiece around the front door. Recorded Texas Historical Landmark, 1987
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The cotton-oil magnate and civic leader Robert Mosby Simmons built this Sweetwater home as a modest one-story house in 1919, then hired Dallas architect Anton Korn in 1934–35 to transform it into a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival showpiece. Its barrel-tile roof, bracketed soffits, bow window and classical doorway reflected the prosperity and tastes of West Texas business leaders between the wars.
Why it matters
The house reflects how oil, cotton and commerce built a prosperous civic class in the growing towns of early-20th-century West Texas.
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Related people
- · Robert Mosby Simmons
- · Anton Korn
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Davis House
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Walter Wright Davis and his wife Florence built this Sweetwater home in 1916, its design caught midway between the craftsman bungalow and the Colonial Revival. Exposed rafter ends, knee braces, and divided-light window sashes mark it as typical of 1920s domestic building. A 1927 remodeling added twin dormers and traded the original broad porch for a small entry.
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