Shelby

Formed January 1, 1827 as the 48^th county

Shelby County (20,995), Shelbyville (4,668)                

The classic red brick and concrete courthouse was built in 1880 at a city square on Main and Washington streets.  Illinois State Highway 16 is Main Street in the town.  O. H. Placey designed the Victorian-Gothic courthouse.  The building features a working clock tower and veteran memorials are across the street.  The county was cut from Fayette County on January 1, 1827 as the 48^th county with Shelbyville as the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for Revolutionary War hero Isaac Shelby. 

Shelby County government consists of a sheriff and 23 Commissioners.  Seventeen Circuit Court Judges serve Shelby, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Marion, and Montgomery counties.  The county is in eastern Illinois.  Springfield, Illinois is northwest and Champaign, Illinois is northeast of the county.  The county center is 4.5 miles Northwest of Shelbyville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Macon, Moultrie, Coles, Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Montgomery, and Christian counties.  The county shape looks like a chair lying on its back.  Shelbyville is located near the county’s center.  Shelbyville is county seat and the largest city.  It is 22.2% of the county population.

The area of the county is 758 square miles.  It is 18 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 56 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 27.7 persons per square mile making it 81 out of 102 in the state.  Shelby County has 54.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 57 cuts the extreme southeast corner of the county from Cumberland County to Effingham County.  United States Highway 45 parallels Interstate Highway 57 from Cumberland to Effingham counties.  United States Highway 51 enters and exits the county twice north to south, once in the northwest corner from Macon to Christian counties and once in the southwest from Christian to Fayette counties.  The Kaskaskia River flows through the county.