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Shellsburg, Iowa

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Canton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52332. The Survey maps it on the Shellsburg quadrangle. 961 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 791 feet above sea level.

Shellsburg within Benton County

On record in Shellsburg

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Shellsburg fell from 983 to 961 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
2010983
2020961-22 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 16 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

13 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Shellsburg between 2007 and 2016, burning about 18 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/undetermined8
Debris and open burning5

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
30 August 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources6671 LINN - BENTON RD., PALO, IA, IA
16 April 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 April 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
12 April 2016Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesVINTON FIRE
31 March 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 November 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources3032 65TH ST. SHELLSBURG, IA, IA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Benton 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 Shellsburg: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: 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
Long QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Old Long QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Owens QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Palo QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Benton County

Storms near this place

41 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Shellsburg in 41 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 18 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 2 funnel cloud, 2 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
July 2011Thunderstorm WindShellsburg$100,000Wind gusts estimated to be 80 mph completely destroyed a metal building and blew over several roofs in Shellsburg, IA at 521 am CDT July 11.
May 2004HailShellsburg$5,000A second thunderstorm developed on outflow boundaries from the earlier storms and produced a second round of 1 inch hail in Shellsburg.
May 2004HailShellsburg$5,000no account filed
October 2004HailShellsburg$3,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindShellsburg$1,000Tree down
August 2025Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Personal weather station.
July 2025Tornado (EF1)Shellsburg-This tornado touched down in rural Benton County. The tornado was on the ground for about 0.8 miles in Benton County before moving into Linn County. The tornado caused mainly damage to trees.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Report of estimated 60 MPH winds.
July 2021Tornado (EFU)Shellsburg-Brief touchdown in a field with no visible damage.
June 2020FloodShellsburg-A public report of water running off the fields and onto the roads.
October 2019Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Local media relayed a report of a tree split and knocked over by thunderstorm winds.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-The public estimated 70 mph winds with quarter size hail.
April 2017HailShellsburg-The time of the event was estimated using radar.
April 2017HailShellsburg-A public report and photo was sent in via twitter. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-A trained spotter estimated wind gusts to 60 mph.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-A spotter reported trees snapped off damaging a few mobile homes in a trailer park.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-A trained spotter reported that 4 to 6 inch tree limbs were down in town.
March 2012HailShellsburg-Quarter sized hail fell in Shellsburg at 917 pm CDT March 31.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Wind gusts estimated to be 65 to 70 mph were observed 3 miles northwest of Shellsburg, IA at 730 pm CDT June 8.
June 2011HailShellsburg-Quarter sized hail fell about 3 miles northwest of Shellsburg, IA at 730 pm CDT June 8.
June 2011HailShellsburg-Quarter sized hail fell about 2 miles north of Shellsburg, IA at 734 pm CDT June 8.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Wind gusts estimated to be 80 mph were observed 1 mile northwest of Shellsburg, IA around 515 am CDT July 11.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph were observed about 2 miles north of Shellsburg, IA at 145 pm CDT August 13.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Wind gusts were estimated to be 80 mph in Shellsburg, IA around 455 pm June 23.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-A wind gust of 68 mph was measured.
August 2007HailShellsburg-Hail the size of a penny fell just northeast of Newhall, IA. Some small branches were also blown down. Time estimated.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-Winds estimated to be 60 mph blew down some corn fields. Time estimated.
June 2006Funnel CloudShellsburg-near the golf course
July 2000Funnel CloudShellsburg-Law enforcement reported a funnel cloud near Shellsburg.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-no account filed
June 2015HailShellsburg-no account filed
June 2015HailShellsburg-no account filed
May 2013HailShellsburg-no account filed
May 2013HailShellsburg-no account filed
June 2009Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindShellsburg-no account filed
June 2007HailShellsburg-no account filed
June 2007HailShellsburg-no account filed
June 2002HailShellsburg-no account filed
June 1998HailShellsburg-no account filed
May 1997HailShellsburg-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Benton 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
Eden5.4 miles13
Benton City (historical)5.6 miles13
Atkins6.7 miles15
Country Aire Home Park6.8 miles15
Newhall8.6 miles13
Urbana9.0 miles14
Manatheka (historical)9.2 miles14
Vinton9.6 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 ShellsburgAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1848297The 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 461565. 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.