Sims

North Dakota's ghost towns are homestead-era towns the drought and the Depression emptied in a single brutal decade.

Sims is a ghost town in Morton County, North Dakota, United States. The town was founded in 1883. At the site a Scandinavian Lutheran Church was built, its parsonage built in 1884. It remains still active, even as the rest of the town has declined. Today, the church has been restored and still worships every other Sunday. The church parsonage has also been restored and is home to the Sims Historical Society Museum. During her trip to North Dakota in October 2008, First Lady Laura Bush visited Sims and toured its church.

Sims survives as partial ruins — standing walls, collapsed roofs, and the bones of a town that once was. Ruin sites can be hazardous: watch for open shafts, unstable masonry, and wildlife sheltering in debris. Bring sturdy boots and photograph from safe distances.

Public access makes Sims one of the easier ghost towns to actually stand in — though "public" in ghost-town country can still mean miles of dirt road, so check recent trip reports first.

Sims is publicly accessible — but give the word "accessible" some respect. Out here it can still mean miles of unmaintained dirt road. Check recent trip reports, carry extra water and a spare tire, download offline maps, and let someone know your route. The mapped point for Sims is roughly 46.7722, -101.4986 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "Sims, North Dakota" covers Sims in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Sims gets better.