Trails to the Past of Iowa is accepting any donations of genealogy materials that you may have such as marriage announcements, news articles, old obituaries, births, (you do not need the birth certificate) just the information, and biographies.  If you have any of these items please contact me Marie Miller the Iowa State Administrator.

Shelby County was formed on January 15, 1851. It was named after General Isaac Shelby, a hero in the American Revolutionary War and the first Governor of Kentucky.

Early settling in Shelby County began in 1848 in Galland's Grove. On February 4, 1855, Shelbyville was designated the county seat. In April, 1859, the seat was moved to Harlan. One year later the first courthouse was erected and a second courthouse was constructed in 1875. In 1892, the construction of the present courthouse was begun, this time of stone and three storeys high. The construction was completed in 1893 with the dedication on September 14. The 1892 Shelby County Courthouse and the surrounding buildings are all listed in the National Register of Historic places effective September 23, 1994. In 1978, the building was extensively restored and still serves as the courthouse.

On Line Data

Cities     Defiance     Earling     Elk Horn     Harlan     Irwin     Kirkman     Panama     Portsmouth     Shelby     Tennant     Westphalia Census-designated places     Corley     Jacksonville Other unincorporated places     Botna Townships     Cass Township     Clay Township     Douglas Township     Fairview Township     Greeley Township     Grove Township     Center Township     Jackson Township     Jefferson Township     Lincoln Township     Monroe Township     Polk Township     Shelby Township     Union Township     Washington Township     Westphalia Township

Shelby County Court House Adjacent counties     Crawford County (north)     Audubon County (east)     Cass County (southeast)     Pottawattamie County (south)     Harrison County (west)

Webspace has been generously provided by Genealogy Village and Access Genealogy Thank You!

The information on Trails to the Past © Copyright    may be used in personal family history research, with source citation. The pages in entirety may not be duplicated for publication in any fashion without the permission of the owner. Commercial use of any material on this site is not permitted.  Please respect the wishes of those who have contributed their time and efforts to make this free site possible.~Thank you!