Sims is a ghost town in Morton County, North Dakota, United States. The town was founded in 1883,[2] and Sims Scandinavian Lutheran Church was constructed the following year.[3] Today, the church has been restored and still worships every other Sunday.[3] The church parsonage has also been restored and is home to the Sims Historical Society Museum.[4]
During her trip to North Dakota in October 2008, First LadyLaura Bush visited Sims and toured its church.[5]
History
Sims was founded in 1883 as a coal town.[6] Coal mining and the town's brickyard helped Sims grow to a population of more than 1,000 people.[3] However, the 1910 Census recorded a population of just 86 people.[7] The population fluctuated over the years, with an estimated 98 people in 1940.[2]
The post office was founded in 1883 and closed in 1947, with mail routed through Almont, North Dakota, to the south.[8]
Sims Scandinavian Lutheran Church was built in 1884 as a combination church and residence. A new church was built in 1896 next to the parsonage.[4] The church is reportedly North Dakota's oldest Lutheran church west of the Missouri River. The congregation still has roughly 50 members, even though they do not live in Sims.[9] Locals report, however, that the town does have one remaining resident: a former pastor's wife who died between 1916 and 1918. Dubbed the "Gray Lady Ghost," her spirit is reported to haunt the old parsonage, wandering the rooms and playing the organ.[3][9]
The last residence in Sims, a mobile home in the center of town, was occupied in 2005, but looked vacant by 2010, and was removed by 2012.[10]
