The story
Read it all →How Sims came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Sims.
The Bullock-Dew House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Sims
Sims’ post office opened in 1908, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
1908first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Sims began
When was Sims founded?
1908
The Sims post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 275118 years
Founding year: the first Sims post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Sims’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Sims’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sims’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Sims
Nobody well known was born in Sims itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Sims’ history
What year was Sims founded?
The Sims post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.