Very few today will recognize the name of Robert J. Sim, but he was a well-known painter and illustrator beginning while he lived in Jefferson and later in New Jersey. Sim was born in 1881 in Geddes, New York, to Eli and Ruby Ayer Sim. Ruby was the widow of D. B. Ayer, a former Jefferson merchant.
When Sim was about one year old, his family moved to Jefferson. He would have graduated circa 1899 from the former high school known as the Jefferson Educational Institute.
But long before graduation, Sim was producing artwork of nature scenes, animals and birds. His mother was a naturalist and wrote articles on natural history, which was unique for a woman at that time. She obviously inspired her only child as his spare time was spent studying nature and putting it into drawings.
A favorite spot for him to draw and study was not too far from his Jefferson home. An abandoned wooden structure at the end of the former West Beech Street, now straight down from the 4-H building at the fairgrounds, was his favorite place to study snakes, birds and small animals. Years later, the structure became a shack known as Jefferson’s haunted house. Postcards were even made of the home, its reputation being promoted in print.
But back when young Sim was exploring the area, it was reported he had several jars of pickled snakes, stuffed birds, insects and other items he was studying to draw. His talents were recognized, allowing him to enter the Cleveland School of Design for two years followed by studies at Ohio State University. The Sentinel reported that “he finished his term with the Cleveland School of Art” on Jan. 1, 1903.
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