Simmons (George) papers, 1902-1904

George Simmons was born in England, around 1861. In 1891, he settled in San Francisco before moving to Nome, Alaska, where he planned to trade furs with the Eskimos. In 1904, he staffed the Alaska Pavilion at the World’s Fair in St. Louis. While there, he won a gold medal for furs.

The collection contains a booklet of admission passes for George Simmons to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which took place in St. Louis, Missouri (the booklet also has a photograph of George Simmons); a publication describing The Exhibition of the District of Alaska at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; and an Official Guide to the 1904 World’s Fair, which also took place in St. Louis. The collection also has a wooden cane with colored carvings that Geronimo gave to George Simmons while at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to the Alaska fur trade; and a photocopy of a photograph of George Simmons from 1904. (Magnes Small Western Collections)