Shelby County, Illinois

Founding: 1827
Parent county: Fayette

Namesake: Isaac Shelby, Kentucky governor
Seat: Shelbyville (1827–)

Land area: 759 square miles

Population (2020): 20,990

Population (historic): 2,972 (1830); 7,807 (1850); 25,476 (1870); 32,126 (1900); 25,471 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1830–1900; 1930s; 1970s; 1990s

Subdivisions: Three cities; one town; seven villages; one CDP; 24 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,960 (28%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 39.6%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 10.4%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 8.5%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 8%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,190
Average outbuilding value (1930): $987

Average farmhouse size (1940): 5.8 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 3,860
Average farm size (1920): 105.1 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Germany, and Pennsylvania
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Shelbyville

Namesake: Shelbyville, Kentucky

Founding: 1827 (platting); 1827 (post office); 1839 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 4,674

Population (historic): 385 (1850); 2,051 (1870); 3,162 (1890); 3,590 (1910); 3,491 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1910; 1930–1980; 1990s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 829 (37%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. St. Patrick Catholic Church (1863). East 625 North, east of North 3550 East. Big Spring. Gothic Revival. Razed.
2. House (c. 1880). 578 North 2050 East. Clarksburg. Italianate.
3. Philip Standley House (1884). 2468 North 1275 East. Pickaway. Italianate.

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