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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.

Shelby within Shelby County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Shelby 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,044
2020940-104 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 17 printed sheets

Matched 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.

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.

Shelby Iron Works, Shelby Hotel, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL
Shelby Iron Works, Shelby Hotel, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Louisville & Nashville Railway, Cahaba River Bridge, Spanning Cahaba River, Helena, Shelby County, AL
Louisville & Nashville Railway, Cahaba River Bridge, Spanning Cahaba River, Helena, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Shelby Iron Works, Structural Framing, Chemical Plant No. 1, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL
Shelby Iron Works, Structural Framing, Chemical Plant No. 1, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Wilton Depot, Ninth Street, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Wilton Depot, Ninth Street, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
The Rock House, U.S. Route 280 (State Route 38), Harpersville, Shelby County, AL
The Rock House, U.S. Route 280 (State Route 38), Harpersville, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Mule Cotton Press, Dunham Plantation, County Road 17, Helena, Shelby County, AL
Mule Cotton Press, Dunham Plantation, County Road 17, Helena, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Shelby Iron Works, Chain Gang (Blue) Hole Lake, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL
Shelby Iron Works, Chain Gang (Blue) Hole Lake, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Farrington Hall, Shelby County Road 203, Aldrich, Shelby County, AL
Farrington Hall, Shelby County Road 203, Aldrich, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Shelby County

Fires near this place

232 since 1994

Regional 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/incendiarism88
Debris and open burning87
Missing data/not specified/undetermined34
Recreation and ceremony10
Natural6
Smoking3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190906-13
4 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2001Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 1994Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190927-16
27 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
26 September 2019Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190926-1
24 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Shelby MineIron, ManganesePast Producer1849
Chain Gang PitIronUnknown
Hubbard Iron MineIronPast Producer
Kingdom AreaIronUnknown
Shelby PitIronUnknown
Shelby Pit/Kingdom AreaIronPast ProducerResidual
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

12 since 1995

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1995Thunderstorm WindShelby$22,000A 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 2003Thunderstorm WindShelby$8,000A 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 2010HailShelby$5,000Quarter 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 2011Thunderstorm WindShelby$1,000A tree was blown down on Ferry Road at Mt Dixie Road.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindShelby$1,000Power lines were blown down at the intersection of CR-302 and CR-303, near Shelby.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindShelby-A few trees and power lines were downed across southern Shelby County, including CR 47, Old Mill Creek Dr, and Hiawatha Rd.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindShelby-Several trees uprooted near the intersection of County Road 28 and County Road 77.
December 2021Tornado (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 2020Flash FloodShelby-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 2015Thunderstorm WindShelby-Several trees uprooted and large branches broken near Highway 25 and Highway 89.
February 1998HailShelby-Dime size hail was reported in Shelby.
May 2012HailShelby-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shelby County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Kewahatchie2.3 miles17
Hillsdale2.7 miles16
Spring Creek3.1 miles17
Merrell Beach3.4 miles17
Dogwood Point3.5 miles17
Kingdom Crossroads3.8 miles16
Mostellers4.0 miles17
Pine Grove Village4.3 miles17

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 ShelbyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1275022The 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.