Eldred James Simkins (1838-1902), then of South Carolina, served four years in the Confederate Army. His brother, William S. Simkins, was credited with firing the first shot of the Civil War at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. E.J. Simkins moved here in 1871, established a law practice, and built the first rooms of this home in 1873. He was a regent of the University of Texas from 1881 to 1893, served as a State Senator from 1887 to 1892, and served as a justice on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals from 1893 to 1895. Simkins helped draft the law creating the Texas Railroad Commission and wrote a noted volume on jurisprudence.