Shelby, Alabama
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Columbiana census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35143. It stands on Beaver Creek. The Survey maps it on the Shelby quadrangle. 940 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 495 feet above sea level.
On record in Shelby
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
Surveyed buildings and structures 6 records
- Edmund King House, Highland & Bloch Streets, Montevallofederal building survey, 5 photographs
- Shelby Iron Works, Chain Gang (Blue) Hole Lake, County Road 42, Shelbyfederal building survey, 2 photographs
- Shelby Iron Works, County Road 42, Shelbyfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Shelby Iron Works, Iron Master's House, County Road 42, Shelbyfederal building survey, 2 photographs
- Shelby Iron Works, Shelby Hotel, County Road 42, Shelbyfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Shelby Iron Works, Structural Framing, Chemical Plant No. 1, County Road 42, Shelbyfederal building survey, 1 photograph
Population over time
2 figuresShelby fell from 1,044 to 940 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,044 | |
| 2020 | 940 | -104 (-10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 17 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1890 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1909 USGS Columbiana quadrangle1:62500
- 1911 USGS Columbiana quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Columbiana SE quadrangle1:24000
- 1980 USGS Shelby quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1984 USGS Birmingham South quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Photographs
8 of 21 photographs shown,Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Every photograph of Shelby County
Fires near this place
232 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 232 fires within 5 miles of Shelby between 1994 and 2020, burning about 4,447 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 88 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 88 |
| Debris and open burning | 87 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 34 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190906-13 |
| 4 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 1994 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190927-16 |
| 27 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 26 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190926-1 |
| 24 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Shelby: 6 unknowns, 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Manganese. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby Mine | Iron, Manganese | Past Producer | 1849 | |
| Chain Gang Pit | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Hubbard Iron Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Kingdom Area | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Shelby Pit | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Shelby Pit/Kingdom Area | Iron | Past Producer | Residual | |
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown |
Storms near this place
12 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Shelby in 12 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 7 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | $22,000 | A mobile home was completely deroofed and two other mobile homes were damaged in extreme southeast Shelby County about six miles southeast of Shelby. There were no injuries. Based on a storm survey and reports witnesses, it was most likely a straight-line wind event. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | $8,000 | A microburst occurred near Waxahatchee Creek in southern Shelby County. A few trees were snapped off, several trees were uprooted, and numerous trees were bent over to the ground. The damage occurred just south of the intersection of SR 145 and CR 311. Only a few branches were knocked down on the Chilton County side of the creek. |
| May 2010 | Hail | Shelby | $5,000 | Quarter sized hail was 3 to 4 inches deep, and damaged the roof of a home, near the intersection of CR-99 and CR-47. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | $1,000 | A tree was blown down on Ferry Road at Mt Dixie Road. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | $1,000 | Power lines were blown down at the intersection of CR-302 and CR-303, near Shelby. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | - | A few trees and power lines were downed across southern Shelby County, including CR 47, Old Mill Creek Dr, and Hiawatha Rd. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | - | Several trees uprooted near the intersection of County Road 28 and County Road 77. |
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Shelby | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southeast Shelby County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph. This tornado crossed from Chilton County into Shelby County near Wilderness Trail and tracked southeast for several miles before dissipating near Highway 145. Damage consisted of uprooted trees. |
| April 2020 | Flash Flood | Shelby | - | Rainfall amounts of 3-5 inches produced localized flash flooding across southern Shelby County. At least six inches of water covering roadways near Wildwood Shores. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | - | Several trees uprooted and large branches broken near Highway 25 and Highway 89. |
| February 1998 | Hail | Shelby | - | Dime size hail was reported in Shelby. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Shelby | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kewahatchie | 2.3 miles | 17 | |
| Hillsdale | 2.7 miles | 16 | |
| Spring Creek | 3.1 miles | 17 | |
| Merrell Beach | 3.4 miles | 17 | |
| Dogwood Point | 3.5 miles | 17 | |
| Kingdom Crossroads | 3.8 miles | 16 | |
| Mostellers | 4.0 miles | 17 | |
| Pine Grove Village | 4.3 miles | 17 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Shelby | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1275022 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 126669. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.









