Shelby County, Indiana

Shelby County Education, Geography, and History

Shelby County is a county located in the state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 44,436. Shelby County was created on April 1, 1822. The county seat is Shelbyville.  The county is named for General Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky.

Etymology - Origin of Shelby County Name

The county is named for Revolutionary War hero Isaac Shelby who later became Governor of Kentucky.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Shelby County History

Shelby County was organized April 1, 1822 It was named for Gen. Isaac Shelby, who defeated the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain in the Revolutionary War. Shelby then became the first Governor of Kentucky. During the War of 1812, he led the army of Kentucky into Canada, and defeated the British at the decisive Battle of the Thames in 1813.

George W. Clarke, Governor of Iowa from 1913 to 1917, was born in Shelby County, Indiana, on Oct. 24, 1852.

Shelby County is divided into 14 Civil Townships as follows: Addison, Brandywine, Hanover, Hendricks, Jackson, Liberty, Marion, Moral, Noble, Shelby, Sugar Creek, Union, Van Buren and Washington.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 413 square miles (1,070 km²), of which 413 square miles (1,069 km²) is land and 0 square miles (1 km²) (0.11%) is water.

Shelby county is located close to the center of Indiana.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Hancock County
• Northeast: Rush County
• Southeast: Decatur County
• Southwest: Bartholomew County
• West: Johnson County
• Northwest: Marion County

Education

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now