Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
“The Shelbyville Historic District is a historic district encompassing the core of Shelbyville, Illinois. The district includes 398 buildings, 293 of which are contributing buildings.”
Wikipedia article Shelbyville Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 6 National Register listings published here for Shelby County · listed in 1976 · category: District.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
An account from the chapter on Shelbyville township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
Death came to Wilher Broughton, a valiant and patriotic son of Shelby county, on the battlefield in France, where he was serving as a messenger and scout in the United States army. On the night of July 19, 1918, he was wounded, and removed to a hospital at Oise, France. Six days later, or on July 25, he died from the effects of the machine gun bullet.
The chapter on Shelbyville Township in Shelby County in the World War, published 1919 names Shelbyville. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
One avenue through which the work of this committee was done was the Child Welfare Department. Under the general direction of Mrs. S. S. Crook, many children in Shelbyville and throughout the county were weighed and measured, the work being done at different times over a long period. With the weighing and measuring, the parents were given instruction as to the proper care of the children, that the child life of the county might be conserved in harmony with the state- and nation-wide plan. A great deal of literature was distributed, and even the school boys became intensely interested in the subject. Mrs. Joseph T. Bowen, State Chairman, told of one lad who wrote a composition in which he said: "Xow that we are at war, it is everybody's business to have a baby and to save it!"
Passage source: Shelby County in the World War, published 1919.
The making and shipping of clothing to Belgian refugees was undertaken, the work being done principally from three centers - Shelbyville, Findlay and Clarksburg. Mrs. Arthur Birkett of Findlay and the Misses Mel Compton and Verna Ragan of Clarksburg co-operated splendidly with Mrs. Hoover and the women of Shelbyville, and many hundreds of aprons, dresses and boys' waists were shipped to destitute Belgian children.
Passage source: Shelby County in the World War, published 1919.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Shelbyville Township - 35,144 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Shelbyville Historic District in 2013, burning about 116 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 130023 |
| 4 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 130022 |
| 3 April 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 130021 |
| 23 March 2013 | Debris and open burning | 2.5 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 130016 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Shelbyville Historic District: 1 producer, 1 past 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prosser Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Shelby County Hiwy Dept Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Shelbyville, the town this property stands in, in 47 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 32 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 3 flash flood, 2 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 2 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2013 | Lightning | Shelbyville | 1 killed | A 29 year-old fisherman was struck by lightning on the Kaskaskia River near the Lake Shelbyville Dam at around 3:50 PM CDT on Sunday, May 26th. The man later died at Shelby Memorial Hospital in Shelbyville. |
| September 1996 | Lightning | Shelbyville | 2 hurt | no account filed |
| February 2017 | Hail | Shelbyville | $800,000 | no account filed |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Shelbyville | $165,000 | Illinois Route 128 had water flowing across it. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $100,000 | The roof was torn off a building in downtown Shelbyville. Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down, and two homes were damaged by falling branches. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $80,000 | Numerous trees and power poles were blown down along a path from 4 miles southwest of Shelbyville to the far western edge of Shelbyville. Damage path was 1/2 mile wide and 3 miles long. Damage was caused by downburst winds as determined by an NWS Survey. |
| May 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Shelbyville | $45,000 | A tornado touched down 1 mile southwest of Shelbyville, then tracked eastward to 1/2 mile southeast of Shelbyville. Numerous shallow-rooted trees were torn or uprooted. The tornado tracked through a campground, where several unoccupied trailers were damaged by falling trees and limbs. A carport was destroyed and porches were torn away from a few trailers. In addition, 2 unanchored metal sheds were destroyed. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $40,000 | Numerous trees, power lines and power poles were blown down on the south side of Shelbyville. |
| December 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $30,000 | Several small trees were blown over. |
| December 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $30,000 | A shed was blown down. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $24,000 | Power lines were blown down in Shelbyville. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $15,000 | Tree limbs and power lines were blown down. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $10,000 | Several tree branches were blown down. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $2,000 | A tree was blown onto Copeland Road 3 miles south of Shelbyville. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | $2,000 | A few large tree limbs were blown down.| |
| June 1998 | Hail | Shelbyville | $200 | no account filed |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A large tree limb, about eight inches in diameter, was blown down in Shelbyville. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A member of the public measured a 60 mph wind gust in Shelbyville. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several large tree branches were blown down. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A tree was blown onto power lines. |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A tree was blown onto a car traveling on a road. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A tree was split in two and damaged power lines. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A power pole was blown down. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A large tree was split in Shelbyville. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A tree was blown down in Shelbyville. |
| February 2008 | Flash Flood | Shelbyville | - | Many roads were flooded in Shelby county. Two vehicles drove into flooded roadways and were swept into ditches. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several power lines were blown down.| |
| March 2006 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | Hail covered the ground. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several large tree limbs blown down. |
| May 2002 | Flash Flood | Shelbyville | - | Illinois Route 128 north of Shelbyville was flooded briefly. Also, Illinois Route 16 was flooded in spots near its intersection with Illinois Route 32. |
| February 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | 3 ft by 10 ft sign on telephone pole blown down by high winds. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several trees and tree limbs were blown down. In Shelbyville, a window at a car dealership was blown out. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Numerous large trees were blown over at a country club. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several large trees were blown down in Shelbyville. No structural damage was reported. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several trees and tree limbs were blown down. Also, a section of tin was blown off of an old barn in town. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | A twenty-two foot sail boat, that was being stored with its keel up, was blown over. Two house boats and a ten foot section of docks sustained minor damage at a marina on Lake Shelbyville. |
| February 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | In Shelbyville, numerous power poles were blown down. In Stewardson, one roof of a home was completely ripped off as well as several porch roofs. No injuries were reported. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Numerous large trees, tree limbs, and power lines were blown down. One large tree fell onto a house and a truck. The house had minor damage and the truck was smashed. One camper was damaged by a fallen tree at a Lake Shelbyville Recreation site two miles northeast of Shelbyville. No injuries were reported. An electrical wind generator tower was damaged just north of Shelbyville near Route 128, where a farmer was struck by lightning while working on a metal shed. He was uninjured by the strike. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | Several large tree limbs were blown down on the north side of Shelbyville. A few of the limbs fell onto several cars. No damage estimate was available. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
| January 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelbyville | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Horace M. Tallman House | 0.5 miles | 1988 |
 | Chautauqua Auditorium | 0.7 miles | 1978 |
 | Clarksburg Schoolhouse | 5.8 miles | 2001 |
 | Westervelt Christian Church | 6.1 miles | 2006 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 76000729 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Shelby County | All 6 listed properties in this county. |
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