Shelby is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Shelby County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. Its population was 1,044 as of the 2010 census. The area is near

Lay Lake Lay Dam is a hydroelectric power dam on the Coosa River in Chilton County, Alabama, Chilton County and Coosa County, Alabama, Coosa County, near Clanton, Alabama.Tharpe, Bill"Lay Dam and Lake" encyclopediaofalabama.org, January 7, 2009, updated Oc ...

and

Waxahatchee Creek Waxahatchee Creek is a tributary of the lower Coosa River near Shelby, Alabama. It forms the southeastern border between Shelby County and Chilton County, where it is crossed by Alabama State Route 145. The lower reaches of Waxahatchee Creek are ...

. Shelby Iron Park is located at the heart of the area. Two sites in Shelby, The Brick House and the Old Shelby Hotel, are listed on the

Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (ARLH), commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These pr ...

History

Shelby was home to the

Shelby Iron Company The Shelby Iron Company was an iron manufacturing company that operated an ironworks in Shelby, Alabama. The iron company produced iron for the Confederate States of America and was destroyed towards the end of the American Civil War. The company ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, iron plating from the iron works was used on the CSS Tennessee,

CSS Huntsville CSS ''Huntsville'' was a Confederate ironclad floating battery built at Selma, Alabama, from 1862 to 1863 during the American Civil War. History ''Huntsville'' was ordered on May 1, 1862, by the Confederate States Navy. She was launched at the ...

, and CSS Tuscaloosa. At this time, Shelby was connected to Columbiana by the

Shelby Iron Company Railroad The Shelby Iron Company Railroad was an Alabama railroad company that started during the American Civil War. The Shelby Iron Company Railroad was built to connect the Shelby Iron Company in Shelby, Alabama, to the Alabama and Tennessee River Railr ...

, which allowed the iron works to be connected to the

Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company was incorporated under act of Alabama on March 4, 1848.Interstate Commerce Commission. ''Southern Ry. Co.'', Volume 37, Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Reports, November 6, 1931, p. 213. Wash ...

. A detachment of General

Emory Upton Emory Upton (August 27, 1839 – March 15, 1881) was a United States Army general and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during th ...

's division of

Wilson's Raid Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. U.S. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his U.S. Cavalry Corps to destroy Confederate manufacturing facilities and was oppos ...

ers destroyed the ironworks on March 31, 1865.

Demographics

Shelby Iron Works was listed on the 1880 U.S. Census and was shortened to Shelby in 1890 as an incorporated town. It did not appear again as a separately returned community until 120 years later in 2010 as a census-designated place.

References

Census-designated places in Shelby County, Alabama Census-designated places in Alabama {{ShelbyCountyAL-geo-stub