Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1850.
The Shelbyville post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shelbyville’s history is told.
Peaked at 777 in 1900; 518 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Shelbyville’s Wikipedia page.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Shelbyville.
Shelbyville was platted in 1836. Like the county in which it is located, Shelbyville was named for Governor Isaac Shelby of Kentucky. A post office has been in operation at Shelbyville since 1836.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Shelbyville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
were preserved and were kept on file in the court house. The following is a copy of the original record : "Shelbyville, 22d February, 1839. At a meeting begun and held in the court house in the town of Shelbyville for the purpose of forming an agricultural society, Capt. S. S. Matson being called to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
years of age at the time of the family removal to Shelby county, where he continued his studies for a time in the public schools of Shelbyville. He and his mother purchased a farm of 120 acres near Shelbyville, and after leaving school he there continued to devote his attention to farming and stock growing
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shelbyville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Shelbyville.
The Shelbyville post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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