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.
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
Cherry Street Bridgelisted 1998
Charles H. & Theresa H. McBride Bungalowlisted 2011
Shell Rock Bridgelisted 1999
Population over time
2 figuresShell 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,296 | |
| 2020 | 1,268 | -28 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 9 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.
- 1954 USGS Waterloo quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Waterloo quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1971 USGS Shell Rock quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Waverly quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
3 since 2006Regional 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/undetermined | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 25 March 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 November 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shell Rock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Dix Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Shell Rock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Stevenson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
31 since 1998Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Shell Rock | $300,000 | Tornado 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 2018 | Flood | Shell Rock | $200,000 | The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 13.66 feet on 5 May 2018 at 20:15 UTC. |
| June 2018 | Flood | Shell Rock | $100,000 | The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 15.45 feet on 11 June 2018 at 11:15 UTC. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Shell Rock | $100,000 | The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 14.49 feet on 6 September 2018 at 1415 UTC. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Shell Rock | $100,000 | The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 15.44 feet on 22 September 2018 at 1715 UTC. |
| September 2001 | Tornado (F1) | Shell Rock | $75,000 | Tornado 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 2016 | Flood | Shell Rock | $50,000 | Iowa 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 1998 | Hail | Shell Rock | $50,000 | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $25,000 | Public reported 8 trees downed by strong winds. Report relayed by NWS employee. Time radar estimated. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $25,000 | Area 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 2007 | Hail | Shell Rock | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $20,000 | Emergency Manager reported power lines and trees down throughout town. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $15,000 | Tree damage with one falling on the roof of a house. |
| March 2011 | Lightning | Shell Rock | $15,000 | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Lightning | Shell Rock | $10,000 | Law enforcement reported that lightning struck a utility pole. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Shell Rock | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $2,000 | A tree was downed in a county park near Shell Rock. Reported by KWWL-TV. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $2,000 | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | $1,000 | Law 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 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | - | Several large tree limbs down in town. Delayed report, time estimated by radar. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | - | Delayed report from emergency management of wind damage to trees and buildings. Time of occurrence estimated from radar. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Shell Rock | - | The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 14.48 feet on 16 March 2019 at 19:30 UTC. |
| June 2016 | Heavy Rain | Shell Rock | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 3.10 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2016 | Heavy Rain | Shell Rock | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.35 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2016 | Flood | Shell Rock | - | The Cedar River at Janesville crested at 16.35 feet on 23 September 2016 at 10:30 pm CDT. |
| September 2016 | Flood | Shell Rock | - | The Shell Rock River at Shell Rock crested at 21.51 feet on 23 September 2016 at 2:08 pm CDT. |
| August 2014 | Tornado (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 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shell Rock | - | Trees were snapped off by high winds. |
| June 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Shell Rock | - | Brief touchdown with no significant damage. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksville | 6.8 miles | 9 | |
| Coster | 7.3 miles | 9 | |
| New Albion | 9.2 miles | 9 | |
| New Hartford | 10.1 miles | 9 | |
| Butler Center | 10.7 miles | 9 | |
| Allison | 11.6 miles | 9 | |
| Packard | 12.5 miles | 9 | |
| Parkersburg | 14.2 miles | 9 |
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 Rock | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1925548 | 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 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.



