50 topographic sheets and 7 fire insurance atlases across 1 place.
20 National Register listings published here, 1 of them a National Historic Landmark · 29 businesses named in the fire insurance atlases from 1887 to 1907.
Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service
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.
Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
Shelby County has 1 covered bridge on the National Register. Each is a listed structure with a federal nomination on file.
 | Lockington Covered Bridge | Listed 1975, 16 map sheets show this crossing |
Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.
Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 420 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 17 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.
The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that measured the flow of its streams, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.
Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.
Every Sanborn volume opens with a printed index naming the town's mills, tanneries, hotels and works by proprietor. Those indexes were read off the scanned sheets by machine and then matched to each other, so a business surveyed four times appears here once, with the years it survived. 5 of these 29 were named in more than one atlas. Each carries a crop of the line it was read from: the spelling is the recogniser's and the 1880s lithographer's, and the scan behind it is the proof.
Church
1887 to 1892, named in 3 atlases
Read elsewhere as United Presbyterian Church.
The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 362 reports for this county, causing 4 deaths, 81 injuries and about $5,149,709 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 205 |
| Hail | 72 |
| Flood | 47 |
| Flash Flood | 21 |
| Tornado | 10 |
| Lightning | 5 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1965 | Tornado (F4) | not stated | 3 killed, 50 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Lightning | Sidney | 1 killed | A truck driver was killed by lightning along I-75 while fixing a mechanical issue with his truck. M50OU. |
| July 1961 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 22 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | 4 hurt, $60,000 | Several trees and power lines were downed in numerous locations. At the county fairgrounds in Sidney, three people were injured as winds knocked tree limbs into tents. In extreme southern Shelby County, thunderstorm winds destroyed a mobile home and injured a 15-year-old girl inside. Winds also destroyed a grain bin. |
| June 1981 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 2 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Lightning | Anna | 1 hurt, $20,000 | Lightning struck a barn causing a damaging fire. It also struck a man who received minor injuries. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Loramie | 1 hurt, $2,000 | A large tree fell onto a person that was camping in Lake Loramie State Park. |
| April 1985 | Thunderstorm Wind | not stated | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Flash Flood | Ft Loramie | $150,000 | One hundred homes near Lake Loramie were flooded. Evacuations occurred near Fort Loramie, Jackson Center, and Port Jefferson. Numerous roads remained underwater across the northern half of the county. |
| September 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Jefferson | $150,000 | A strong microburst caused damage to homes across the eastern part of the county. One house was blown off of its foundation, and several others sustained major damage. Numerous trees were downed across the area. Maximum wind speeds were estimated between 100 and 120 mph. |
| March 2022 | Tornado (EF0) | Russia | $100,000 | Although there were some very minor signs of damage on Studer Road, the first notable damage associated with this tornado occurred at a property on the east side of Marshall Road, where one tree was damaged and part of a barn roof was removed. On the west side of Darke Shelby Road, a house had a loss of some shingles and gutters, with at least a dozen trees damaged or uprooted. On the east side of this road, another home had some minor roof damage and a few trees were downed. A barn just north of this home was leveled, with sheet metal from the barn thrown downstream over a tenth of a mile.||At a property on the west side of Simon Road, several structures were damaged and parts of two barn roofs were removed. Another barn was partially collapsed. On Miller Road, one house had a large number of shingles removed. Across Miller Road to the east, a large concrete silo was downed into a barn. Some tree damage was noted in a stand of trees east of Miller Road and south of Redmond Road.||The last visible damage occurred at a property north of Redmond Road, just west of Walzer Road. A barn at this property had a portion of the roof removed from the north facing section of the roof. At least two windows were blown out from the west side of another building at this property. No additional damage was observed east of Walzer Road. |
| May 2019 | Flash Flood | Botkins | $100,000 | Flowing water was completely covering Botkins Road and Sidney Freyburg Road. Several homes were also flooded in the Botkins area. |
| July 2003 | Flash Flood | Ft Loramie | $100,000 | Lake Loramie State Park was evacuated as the lake came out of its banks. Numerous roads were flooded across the northern half of the county. County Road 25A and nearby parkland were underwater in Sidney. |
| August 2002 | Lightning | Russia | $100,000 | A house along State Route 48 near the Shelby-Miami county line was set on fire by a lightning strike. Firefighters from surrounding villages responded to the blaze, which took nearly two hours to extinguish. The five year old home was completely destroyed. There were no injuries, as the homeowners were out of town at the time of the fire. |
| March 2026 | Tornado (EF0) | Anna | $60,000 | The first evidence of tornadic damage was on Wenger Road, where two barns were destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped and a residence had minor roof damage. Additional damage was noted along Amsterdam Road where a roof was lifted off of a barn and several trees were uprooted. Farther east, more trees were uprooted and a garage was damaged along County Road 25A. The tornado dissipated just west of I-75. |
| March 2026 | Tornado (EF0) | Anna | $60,000 | The first tornadic damage occurred along Wells Road, just west of County Road 25A, where a RV was overturned and a pair of properties sustained siding damage. Additionally, two trees were downed along County Road 25A. The tornado then crossed I-75, where it blew two tractor trailers over onto their sides. The tornado then crossed Highland Kies Road, where it blew down a tree, destroyed a shed, and blew shingles off of a residence and garage. Finally, the tornado destroyed a large outbuilding on Sidney Freyburg Road south of Amsterdam Road before dissipating. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Loramie | $60,000 | Numerous trees were downed in Ft. Loramie, Newport and Sidney and a barn was damaged near Hardin. In Sidney, some trees fell on houses, some falling trees ripped up sidewalks, and a roof was blown off a shed. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby and Russia | $50,000 | Trees were downed. Several structures were struck by lightning and caught fire. A barn in Russia burnt to the ground after being struck by lightning and 15 head of cattle perished. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $50,000 | A grain silo and trees were downed on State Route 705. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $50,000 | Trees downed in several locations, some on cars and buildings. |
| July 1996 | Lightning | Kettlersville | $50,000 | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Botkins | $35,000 | Two power poles and a silo were blown over. One tree was reported down and another was broken. These occurrences were due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Oran | $30,000 | A road was washed out in the 5000 block of Cardo Road. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Anna | $30,000 | A barn was blown down near Anna due to thunderstorm winds. Trees and power lines were also downed across the county. |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $30,000 | Trees were downed, and a 60 by 60 foot pole barn was destroyed. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Botkins | $25,000 | Five homes sustained roof damage and a barn was destroyed to the southwest of Botkins. A semi-trailer was flipped on its side and numerous trees were knocked down, including a few on houses. The damage was from a possible microburst. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jackson Center | $25,000 | Roofs were damaged on several buildings and trees were knocked down. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $23,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused damage to trees, a roof on a mobile home, and windows. Nickel to quarter size hail was also reported. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maplewood | $20,000 | A house on Maplewood Road had a garage door blown in and roof damage. An outbuilding was also damaged. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $20,000 | Three homes and a barn sustained structural damage. A business on Schenk Road had part of its roof removed. |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $20,000 | Trees and power poles down across the county. Also, a barn collapsed near Anna. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Botkins | $20,000 | Roof blown off a barn and numerous trees downed. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Half | $20,000 | Numerous trees were downed, and a metal shed was blown down on State Route 47, 10 miles north of Russia. Trees were also blown into a car just east of Sidney. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jackson Center | $15,000 | A grain bin was blown off of its base and destroyed. Another grain bin sustained damage to its top panels. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Loramie | $15,000 | The roof of a 80 foot tall silo was blown mostly off and twisted. Also, a hoop building tarp was blown off with PVC and metal tubing snapped and left in various spots. Twenty to thirty tires on the backside of a silage pile were picked up off the pile and pushed into a wheat field. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Botkins | $15,000 | Roofs were damaged and a barn wall collapsed due to thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $15,000 | Two barns had their tin roofs removed and a wooden fence was downed around a pool along Hardin-Wapakoneta Road. Several trees and power poles were also knocked down in this vicinity. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $15,000 | Numerous trees and large limbs were downed across the northern half of the county. One tree fell on a vehicle and another on a house in Sidney, causing minor damage to both. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $15,000 | Several homes were damaged by falling trees. Numerous trees and limbs were knocked down, and a few road signs were blown over. A 63 mph gust was measured in Anna. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $15,000 | Trees and limbs were downed. Fifteen homes and a few automobiles sustained minor damage from fallen trees. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed trees, some of which fell across roads and on cars. |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hardin Station | $12,000 | Several trees and power lines were downed. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Sidney | $12,000 | no account filed |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jackson Center | $10,000 | A tree fell onto a vehicle. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $10,000 | A tree fell onto a car. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Loramie | $10,000 | Several trees and large limbs were knocked down. One of the large limbs fell onto and broke a fence. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Loramie | $10,000 | One side of a pole barn was blown down on Eilerman Road. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $10,000 | Four power poles were knocked down along State Route 47. |
| December 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jackson Center | $10,000 | A barn was heavily damaged due to thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Anna | $10,000 | A tree was uprooted and a roof was blown off of a barn due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $10,000 | Numerous trees and power lines downed. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $10,000 | Numerous trees knocked down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Anna | $10,000 | Many trees and power lines downed from winds that were measured at 67 mph. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $10,000 | Trees downed. |
| November 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Anna | $8,000 | Several trees, along with power poles and lines, were downed in the area. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sidney | $8,000 | Multiple trees as well as some power lines were downed. In the same area, lightning struck a utility pole, causing a nearby tree to catch on fire. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Loramie | $8,000 | Multiple trees and a utility pole were downed. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kettlersville | $8,000 | Power poles were downed in the vicinity of McCartyville, Amsterdam, and Wells Roads. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $7,000 | Trees and powerlines were downed. |
The Survey's mineral resources record lists 21 workings inside this county. 8 still produce and 13 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 16 |
| Stone, Crushed/Broken | 3 |
| Limestone, General | 2 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami River Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Rock Run Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Miami River Stone Co. | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Rock Run Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Spring Creek Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Bandwie Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Bandwie Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Ernest Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Ernst Gravel Co. Plant & Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant | ||
| Fleckenstein Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Fleckenstein Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Morelock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Norelock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Pence Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Plant Number 2 and Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Port Jefferon Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sidney Sand & Gravel Pit No 2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant | ||
| Spring Creek Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Staley Farm Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Washington Township Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Washington Township Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Museum specimens collected in and around this county - inside the rectangle that bounds it - and catalogued with a date and a place: 486 of them, by kingdom 406 animalia, 40 fungi, 39 plantae, 1 unrecorded. Each is a physical object in a named collection, not a sighting. Held by Ohio State University - Fish Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), Ohio State University - Bird Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), YPM, NY, Ohio State University - Mammal Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), INHS among others, and each settlement page carries the specimens collected near it.
The oldest of them. A specimen proves something was collected on that day; its absence proves nothing.
| Photograph | Year | Species | Kingdom | Where | Collector | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1800 | Mentha aquatica L. | Plantae | Bremen: An der WÅmme in Oberneuland bei Bremen | Ballenstedt, B. | SMNK PHAN-KR 37620 / 950471 / 604322 |
 | 1883 | Geum urbanum L. | Plantae | Bremen: Vegesack, feuchtes, schattiges Gehîlz bei Holthorst, sehr selten | Baßmann | SMNK PHAN-KR 44178 / 986213 / 609262 |
 | 1889 | Rubus idaeus L. | Plantae | Bremen: auf Quellgrund, Torf u. Humus | Meyerholz | SMNK PHAN-KR 2115 / 953593 / 584542 |
 | 1892 | Lobelia dortmanna L. | Plantae | Bremen: Bremen-Lesum, Lesum | Wendelken | SMNK PHAN-KR 38407 / 938623 / 601818 |
 | 1892 | Rubus condensatus P.J.Müll. | Plantae | Niedersachsen: Soltau in der Lüneburger Heide | Elmgoeth, Fr. | SMNK PHAN-KR 2056 / 953567 / 584516 |
| 1897 | unnamed | Shelby County | WA Kellerman | WIS WIS-F-0090316 | ||
 | 1897 | Carex shortiana Dewey & Torr. | Plantae | not stated | Wetzstein, A. | MU 000297211 |
 | 1897 | Cercosporina apii (Fresen.) Miura | Fungi | Kirkwood | Selby A. D. | BPI BPI 432841 |
History of Shelby County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 11 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.
| Shape and position in the county | Township | Settlements in it | Length | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Township | Buckeye Terrace, Lakeside Village, Sidney | 1,015 words | 1 | |
| Cynthian Township | Newport, Oran | 4,257 words | 9 | |
| Dinsmore Township | Botkins, Northumberland | 90,739 words | 4 | |
| Franklin Township | Anna, Swanders | 14,095 words | 0 | |
| Green Township | Ballou, Hageman, Plattsville, Tawawa, Valentine | 20,708 words | 1 | |
| Jackson Township | Jackson Center, Montra | 13,758 words | 6 | |
| Loramie Township | Dawson, Houston, Mount Jefferson, Russia | 20,902 words | 9 | |
| Orange Township | Depew, Hickory Dell Estates, Kirkwood | 22,082 words | 3 | |
| Perry Township | Pasco, Pemberton | 21,300 words | 2 | |
| Salem Township | Maplewood, Port Jefferson | 18,336 words | 12 | |
| Washington Township | Lockington, Newbern | 1,680 words | 0 |
2 books written about this county, cut here where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 20 chapters in all. Every chapter is public domain, machine-read from the scan and reproduced complete. A chapter already given under one of the county's towns is not repeated in this list.
| Chapter | Length |
|---|---|
| The whole text | 473,272 words in 30 parts |
| Chapter | Length |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Introductory | 2,531 words |
| Chapter 2: Discovery of America | 3,502 words |
| Chapter 3: The Indian Tribes | 11,168 words |
| Chapter 4: The Old Northwest | 4,114 words |
| Chapter 5: Geology Axd Topography | 9,218 words |
| Chapter 6: Organization of Shelby County | 28,455 words in 2 parts |
| Chapter 7: Sidney, the County Seat | 7,116 words |
| Chapter 8: Manufactures and Commerce | 8,127 words |
| Chapter 9: Transportation | 3,574 words |
| Chapter 10: Public Institutions | 3,517 words |
| Chapter 11: Banks and Banking | 2,679 words |
| Chapter 12: The Press | 3,044 words |
| Chapter 13: Agriculture | 4,323 words |
| Chapter 14: Religious Development | 5,843 words |
| Chapter 15: The Medical Profession | 2,689 words |
| Chapter 16: Education | 2,857 words |
| Chapter 17: Military Record | 9,205 words |
| Chapter 18: The Bench and Bar | 4,724 words |
| Chapter 23: Miscellaneous | 207,944 words in 14 parts |
Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on. The 1 place that was also surveyed for fire insurance comes first, with the number of atlases and photographs held for them.
Clinton township · 45365 · On Starrett Run · Sidney quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
Fire insurance: 7 atlases
Clinton township · 45365 · On Starrett Run · Sidney quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
Loramie township · 45333 · On Ninemile Creek · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
McLean township · 45865 · Near Blackberry Island · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
McLean township · 45865 · Near Blackberry Island · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
McLean township · 45845 · On Mile Creek · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
Turtle Creek township · 45365 · On East Turtle Creek · Sidney quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
McLean township · 45865 · Near Blackberry Island · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
Orange township · 45365 · On Brush Creek · Piqua East quadrangle
16 sheets, 1914 to 1986
Loramie township · 45333 · On Ninemile Creek · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
Clinton township · 45365 · On Starrett Run · Sidney quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
Washington township · 45356 · On Mill Creek · Piqua East quadrangle
16 sheets, 1914 to 1986
Loramie township · 45333 · On Ninemile Creek · Piqua West quadrangle
15 sheets, 1911 to 1986
Cynthian township · 45845 · On Lawrence Run · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
Dinsmore township · 45306 · Botkins quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
No longer a settlement
Cynthian township · 45365 · On East Painter Creek · Fort Loramie quadrangle
14 sheets, 1909 to 1986
Perry township · 45365 · On Leatherwood Creek · Port Jefferson quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
Perry township · 45353 · On Little Indian Creek · Port Jefferson quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
Salem township · 45365 · On Counts Run · Port Jefferson quadrangle
15 sheets, 1913 to 1986
Green township · 45365 · Fletcher quadrangle
15 sheets, 1914 to 1986
No longer a settlement
McLean township · 45865 · Near Blackberry Island · New Knoxville quadrangle
15 sheets, 1909 to 1986
The vanished settlements of Shelby County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.
15 topographic sheets and 7 fire insurance atlases, 1887 to 1946
The complete index, with nothing left out. Each of these is a separate record with its own page: a federal survey report, or the case file that argued a property on to the National Register. Both are public domain and reproduced word for word.
The vanished settlements of Shelby County, the places these records name that are no longer on the map.
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