In the beginning of the 20th century, Shimsk, then a selo and known as Shimsky Perevoz, was the center of Shimskaya Volost of Novgorodsky Uyezd of Novgorod Governorate.
In the early 1900s, Shimsk, formerly a selo and called Shimsky Perevoz, served as the administrative hub for Shimskaya Volost in Novgorodsky Uyezd of the Novgorod Governorate.