Zalmon G. Simmons

Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr. (September 10, 1828 – February 11, 1910) was an American businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. In business, Simmons was initially successful as an investor and officer in the Wisconsin State Telegraph Company, which through acquisitions and mergers later became part of the Western Union Telegraph Company. While working in that business, he founded the Simmons Company. As an investor and philanthropist, he was a major contributor to the early economic and cultural development of the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin. He served as the 26th mayor of Kenosha (1884 & 1885), and represented Kenosha in the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1865 term. Simmons Island in Kenosha is named for him, the land was formerly part of his estate.