William Gilmore Simms, the preeminent man of letters in the Old South, lived through an era of American history marked by nullification, states rights, secession, war, and reconstruction. He responded to these crises by writing and publishing a total of 65 volumes, comprising 27 novels of romances, five collections of short fiction, 18 volumes of poetry, two of drama, five volumes of history and geography, four of biography, and five volumes of reviews and miscellaneous prose. As an editor, he was associated with a number of significant periodicals. He was also a popular lecturer on a number of subjects and left a number of important works in manuscript at his death. Collins Park stands on the site where his son, William Gilmore Simms, Jr., Clerk of Court for Barnwell County from 1883 to 1912, and his wife, Emma Gertrude Hartzog Simms, built their stately home in the early 1900's.