BlockBefore

Shell Rock, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Shell Rock Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50670. It stands on Curry Creek. The Survey maps it on the Shell Rock quadrangle. 1,268 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 912 feet above sea level.

Shell Rock within Butler County

On record in Shell Rock

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Shell Rock fell from 1,296 to 1,268 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
20101,296
20201,268-28 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 9 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.

Fires near this place

3 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Shell Rock between 2006 and 2009, burning about 21 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3

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
7 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 March 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 November 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Butler County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Shell Rock: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Shell Rock QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Dix PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Shell Rock PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Stevenson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Butler County

Storms near this place

31 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Shell Rock in 31 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 flood, 4 tornado, 3 hail. 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
July 2021Tornado (EF1)Shell Rock$300,000Tornado developed southwest of Shell Rock and moved along 250th Street. The tornado impacted several farmsteads along 250th producing EF1 damage to buildings and trees at many of the locations. The tornado was also quite wide with the the max width extending over 600 yards. The tornado continued into Bremer county.
May 2018FloodShell Rock$200,000The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 13.66 feet on 5 May 2018 at 20:15 UTC.
June 2018FloodShell Rock$100,000The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 15.45 feet on 11 June 2018 at 11:15 UTC.
September 2018FloodShell Rock$100,000The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 14.49 feet on 6 September 2018 at 1415 UTC.
September 2018FloodShell Rock$100,000The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 15.44 feet on 22 September 2018 at 1715 UTC.
September 2001Tornado (F1)Shell Rock$75,000Tornado hit grain bin and blew downwind 1/4 mile. Shed was destroyed on a farm south of Shell Rock. Tornado moved into Bremer County.
September 2016FloodShell Rock$50,000Iowa DOT and local law enforcement have closed Highway 3 between County Road T55 near Clarksville and US 218 near Shell Rock due to flooding of the Shell Rock River.
May 1998HailShell Rock$50,000no account filed
April 2017Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$25,000Public reported 8 trees downed by strong winds. Report relayed by NWS employee. Time radar estimated.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$25,000Area of wind damage downstream of the dissipating tornado east of Clarksville. Limb damage to over a dozen trees and an outbuilding with a west facing entrance was pulled from the ground.
July 2007HailShell Rock$25,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$20,000Emergency Manager reported power lines and trees down throughout town.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$15,000Tree damage with one falling on the roof of a house.
March 2011LightningShell Rock$15,000no account filed
September 2019LightningShell Rock$10,000Law enforcement reported that lightning struck a utility pole. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar.
June 2001HailShell Rock$5,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$5,000no account filed
September 2005Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$3,000no account filed
June 2012Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$2,000A tree was downed in a county park near Shell Rock. Reported by KWWL-TV.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$2,000no account filed
September 2019Thunderstorm WindShell Rock$1,000Law enforcement reported several large tree limbs, including a few large ones, down throughout the town of Shell Rock. Some were blocking the street. Time estimated from radar.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindShell Rock-Several large tree limbs down in town. Delayed report, time estimated by radar.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindShell Rock-Delayed report from emergency management of wind damage to trees and buildings. Time of occurrence estimated from radar.
March 2019FloodShell Rock-The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 14.48 feet on 16 March 2019 at 19:30 UTC.
June 2016Heavy RainShell Rock-Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 3.10 inches over the last 24 hours.
September 2016Heavy RainShell Rock-Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.35 inches over the last 24 hours.
September 2016FloodShell Rock-The Cedar River at Janesville crested at 16.35 feet on 23 September 2016 at 10:30 pm CDT.
September 2016FloodShell Rock-The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 21.51 feet on 23 September 2016 at 2:08 pm CDT.
August 2014Tornado (EF0)Shell Rock-This tornado developed and quickly moved out of the county and into Bremer county. Only crop damage was noted with this segment of the tornado. Tornado was found and rated using high resolution satellite imagery.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindShell Rock-Trees were snapped off by high winds.
June 2007Tornado (EF0)Shell Rock-Brief touchdown with no significant damage.

Every storm recorded in Butler 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
Clarksville6.8 miles9
Coster7.3 miles9
New Albion9.2 miles9
New Hartford10.1 miles9
Butler Center10.7 miles9
Allison11.6 miles9
Packard12.5 miles9
Parkersburg14.2 miles9

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 Shell RockAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1925548The 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 461561. 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.