Jimmy Ochiltree Sims Home

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to honor every word. Somewhere in Orange, Texas, there's a house with a story quieter than its neighbors, and that quiet is exactly what makes it worth your time. The place is known as the Jimmy Ochiltree Sims Home, and the marker lays it out plain and true.

J.O. Sims was born right here in Orange, in 1874. Now, Orange in those days had its share of men who struck it rich in timber, and they built themselves mansions to prove it, ornate, towering things that announced their fortunes to anyone passing by.

Sims took a different road. He came up through the ranks at the First National Bank, starting as a clerk and working his way all the way to board chairman. That's the kind of rise that doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't happen loud.

In 1899, he married Mary Alberta Spooner, born in 1879, and the two of them set about building a life together. In 1902, Sims built this residence, originally located one block from where it stands today. And here's the thing about that house.

It is simple. Deliberately, quietly simple. While the wealthy lumbermen of Orange were piling on the ornamentation, Sims put up something modest.

Then in 1919, the house was enlarged, still without the flourish of those neighboring mansions. The Sims family held onto that house for decades, all the way until 1977, when it was moved to its current location. Mary Alberta passed in 1948.

J.O. himself lived until 1961. And the house they built together, plain as a banker's handshake, outlasted nearly everything around it. Sometimes the story that lasts isn't the loudest one on the block.

What the marker says

Born in Orange, J.O. Sims (1874-1961) rose from clerk to board chairman during his long career with the First National Bank. He married Mary Alberta Spooner (1879-1948) in 1899 and built this residence in 1902. Originally located one block from this site, the house was enlarged in 1919. Its simple style contrasts with the ornate mansions built by wealthy lumbermen. The Sims family owned the house until 1977, when it was moved here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1979