Most of Shelby Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1890.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shelby Township is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shelby Township’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Shelby Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Shelby Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first land acquired by settlers was in 1809 on the northern border with Ripley County. Many early settlers were Scotch-Irish and were prominent in forming the Jefferson Presbyterian Church in 1818. Another early group was what was known as "Low Dutch", families primarily of Dutch origin who had lived in the New Amsterdam settlements in New York and New Jersey and who moved to Kentucky in the early 1780s. They were also involved in the formation of Jefferson Presbyterian, but joined the former Pleasant Presbyterian church in neighboring Switzerland County when it formed in 1829.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shelby Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Canaan sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Shelby Township.
People over time
Shelby Township, census by census
Between 705 and 1,583 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Shelby Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Shelby Township
Nobody well known was born in Shelby Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Shelby Township is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Shelby Township?
5% of Shelby Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1993.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
