Sims, Benjamin L.

Benjamin L. Sims, born near Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky, on April 30, 1871, was a prominent grocery merchant, rancher, and real estate businessman in Fresno County. He moved to Bosque County, Texas, in 1874 before settling with his parents, Phillip W. and Martha J. Sims, in Fresno in 1887 to complete his education. After gaining nearly eight years of experience working for local firms, he established his own grocery enterprise with his brother Edwin E. under the firm name Sims Bros on Van Ness Avenue in 1899. He later sold the business in 1905 to pursue agricultural ventures, managing a dairy farm and alfalfa ranch on California Avenue before transitioning to a vineyard and peach orchard near Clovis.

In 1916, Mr. Sims returned to the grocery trade by purchasing a residence and store at Fresno and Tyler Streets, which he successfully operated until selling the stock and renting the building in 1918. Following this sale, he entered the real estate business in Fresno to handle both city and farm property. Married to Laura Musick in 1892, he raised three children: Jesse P., who served overseas as a first class Sergeant in the Ninety-first Division, Marshall P., and Robert B. Beyond his private enterprises, he served on the Board of Trustees for the Nees Colony School, actively belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and maintained memberships in the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.