Born Eugene Zimmerman in Basil Switzerland, at 2 years old Eugene was sent to live with his relatives in Alsace, France after the death of his mother. With the Franco-Prussian War looming in 1869, he was sent, by himself, at the age of 7 as a steerage passenger on the steamer Paraguay for a 21-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean to meet his father and older brother in the United States. He stayed with relatives on New York City's East Side for a year before finally going to Paterson, New Jersey to live and work in his father's bakery. Over the next several years, Eugene attended school irregularly and held several different jobs including: chore boy, newspaper delivery, cotton mill machine tender, wine and beer merchant assistant, and various other positions often filled by eager young boys. The already artistic Zimmerman was tasked with applying lettering to the windows of the wine merchant's new shop after a fire and was completing his job when he was spotted by a local sign painter by the name of William "Bill" Brassington, who offered him a job on-the-spot.

Zimmerman had found a trade he really enjoyed. So much so that when Mr. Brassington followed an opportunity that brought him to Elmira New York, Eugene came along. He quickly stood out for his ability in illustration and was soon hired away from the perpetually broke Brassington by J.T. Pope, a sign painter in Horseheads. Pope made Zimmerman the head of his pictorial staff but when Pope's business failed, Eugene was hired on by sign painter, Joe Densmore, also of Horseheads. It was in this little village he met Mable Beard and found a family he started to fit in with. He also joined Acme Hose Company #2 and remained a volunteer fireman with that company until his death.

On a trip to New York City to visit his relatives, Zimmerman was persuaded to leave behind his sketchbook filled with characters and drawings and it was put into the hands of Joseph Kepler, the publisher of Puck Magazine.
Eugene was back in Horseheads when he received word that Kepler would like to meet with him. Mr. Densmore, knowing his strong desire to be a comic artist, found it in himself to give Eugene the 10 dollars he needed for the ticket to get back to New York City for the meeting. Kepler offered Zimmerman a job, Zimmerman dropped the "merman" from his signature, and thus began Zim's career as a cartoonist!

Two years later, Zim, his good friend, Bernhard Gillam, and several other artists moved to Judge Magazine where Zim became one of the premier artists. Bernhard became the art director. Under publisher Billy Arkell's guidance, Judge became one of the country's most important political magazines. In a short time, Zim became a name well-known and loved around the world.

With good financial fortune secured, Zim returned to Horseheads and wed his beloved Mable. They moved to Brooklyn and Zim worked tirelessly drawing cartoons for Judge Magazine. All this effort took its toll on Zim and somewhere around 1888 he suffered a nervous breakdown. The treatment came in the form of an extended holiday to Florida with his bride. He continued to send art to the magazine but realized he did not have to be in the city to do his work. So when they returned, it was to establish a home in Horseheads.

In the following year, Zim worked with his father-in-law, Alvah Beard, to design and build the home that still stands at 601 N. Pine Street. By 1890, the house was livable and Zim, Mable, their new daughter Laura and Zim's nephew, Adolf whom they adopted after the death of Zims brother, moved in.

Zim commuted to the city by train to maintain his contact with Judge magazine and continued to contribute content well into the 1900s.

He had a second floor office in Hanover Square out of which he ran a correspondence school for cartooning and caricature. Subscribers would receive 20 booklets in monthly installments and be encouraged to send their work to Zim for personal critique. He also wrote several illustrated books poking fun of his adopted home. A Foolish History Of Horseheads, A Foolish History Of Elmira and In Dairyland are a few examples.

Zim also founded and was the first president of the American Association of Cartoonists and Caricaturists. He is credited as being a pioneer in the field of grotesque caricature and strip-comics like we see in our papers today.
Meanwhile, Zim was establishing himself as a vibrant part of the Horseheads community. In 1910, Zim once again teamed up with father-in-law Alvah and built a bandstand in the nearby Teal Park. Zim was an avid music lover but could not play a note himself. He donated band instruments and uniforms to go with the venue and for many years the Zim Band serenaded the town at special events. Although the Zim Band is long gone, the bandstand is still used for free concerts in the park every Thursday evening from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Zim continued his involvement with the local fire department and was always one to make sure the annual fireman's festival was amply supplied with food and decoration.

Zim was also a lover of the outdoors. He claimed to have "traversed virtually every square yard of game country in Horseheads and adjoining townships," and would go out hunting, fishing or just hiking whenever he had the chance. If he was in town, it was likely he could be found at the local blacksmith shop trading tales with the regulars that gathered there or sketching someone or something that caught his eye.

It is a unique situation that we now have a hand-drawn visual record of nearly every prominent citizen of our town between 1890 and 1935. Many of those drawings have scattered over the years, but the known collection is still substantial and can be viewed in locations throughout Horseheads.

Zim died of a heart attack on the morning of Tuesday, March 26, 1935 in his home on Pine St., having written his last newspaper article the previous evening and leaving a half finished drawing at his desk. He is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery alongside his family. Four years after Zim's death the community erected a 7-foot granite memorial in Teal Park in his honor.

During his 73 years on earth, it is estimated Zim produced around 40,000 works, many of which appeared in national magazines. His style is broad and shows a diversity that is rare among artists. His accomplishment is made even more amazing by his completed lack of professional art schooling. The Horseheads Historical Society is honored to maintain the home and archives of this important, but almost forgotten, figure in American History. This is by no means an exhaustive biography. We encourage to learn more about the life of Zim. Book a tour of the Zim House by contacting the Horseheads Historical Society or pick up a copy of Zim's Autobiography.

Much of this information has been taken from "ZIM: The Autobiography of Eugene Zimmerman" written by Walter M. Brasch.