Shelley is a city in Bingham County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, United States. The population was 4,409 at the 2010 census. Since 1927 Shelley has been home to the "Idaho Annual Spud Day", which is celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of September. It typically features a parade, live bands, a Spud Tug, a spud-picking Contest, and free baked potatoes.''Past Events - Spud Day'' City of Shelley, May 8, 2014

History

Shelley was established in 1904. It was named for John F. Shelley, who moved to the area in 1892. He'd moved to the area intending to open a small store, and needed lumber and other supplies to build it. Since the site was some distance from the nearest existing community, he asked the railroad company to make a special stop to offload the supplies he'd ordered. They consented, provided he could offload the supplies in under 20 minutes. His daughter, Lottie, wrote the following in her personal history: File:John_F_Shelley.JPG , John F. Shelley File:John_F_Shelley_Family.JPG , John F. Shelley and his wife stand in the background. In the foreground are the rest of his family: Mary, Tom, Charlotte (Lottie), Docia, Hannah Davis On September 4, 1902 a large fire destroyed seven buildings on State Street. Only two buildings, a general merchandise store and Nalder's furniture store, were saved. Soren Yorgesen, a local Justice of the Peace and proprietor of the first hotel in Shelley recounts the experience as follows:

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Shelley is located on the eastern side of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

, facing the Blackfoot Mountains.

Greenbelt

Beginning at the fire department, across the street from Shelley High School, lies the Shelley Greenbelt. This fully paved trail, a collaborative project between Shelley and Bingham County, follows the Snake River for 2 miles before terminating at North Bingham County Park. The trail includes picnic tables, benches, and activities for families throughout.

Idaho Annual Spud Day

In September, 1927, Shelley hosted its first Spud Day (Now called The Idaho Spud Day), now a yearly tradition usually taking place on the third Saturday each September. During this first Spud day, 10,000 people were served hot baked potatoes with butter. This tradition continues each year, along with several other events. These events have included a parade that features the various clubs and bands of the schools in the area, as well as local businesses and groups. Other events include the spud tug - where teams play a game of

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...

over a pit of mashed potatoes blended together in a

cement truck A concrete mixer (also cement mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines cement, Construction aggregate, aggregate (e.g. sand or gravel), and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving drum to mix the components. For ...

, spud run - a set of 1-mile and 5k races, concerts, fairground booths and games, and a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

hosted at nearby North Bingham County Park. This event is usually the beginning of Spud Harvest, a 2-week break from school to allow students to assist in the seasons potato harvest.

Demographics

File:Shelley_ID_HighSchool_and_BringkmanPark.JPG, Curt Brinkman Park features a skateboarding park that was created by James Simpson in 1994. Shelley High School is in the background. File:Shelley_ID_RiverWalk.JPG, A gazebo on the greenbelt in Shelley, ID overlooks the

as it flows over some rocks. This gazebo was destroyed in 2009. File:Shelley High School nicknamed the 'Spud Cellar'.JPG, Shelley High School, nicknamed 'the Spud Cellar', houses the community's 600 high school students.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,409 people, 1,445 households, and 1,123 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,531 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 7.0% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 14.0% of the population. There were 1,445 households, of which 49.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 22.3% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.53. The median age in the city was 27.8 years. 36.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 19.2% were from 45 to 64; and 9.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,813 people, 1,201 households, and 989 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,253 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.93%

, 0.18%

, 0.68% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.03%

, 6.74% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 11.78% of the population. There were 1,201 households, out of which 48.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% were

living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.6% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.50. In the city, the population was spread out, with 35.6% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,318, and the median income for a family was $41,223. Males had a median income of $32,154 versus $20,121 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,921. About 7.9% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Lavina Fielding Anderson Lavina Fielding Anderson (13 April 1944 – 29 October 2023) was a Latter-day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson held a PhD in English from the University of Washington. Anderson was one of the original trustees of the Mormo ...

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within the Latter Day Saint movement * Latvijas ...

scholar and author * Curt Brinkman, Paralympic athlete * Lewis Croft, actor * Brad Daw, member of the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district cont ...

* Dan Dockstader, President Wyoming State Senate * Hadley Foster, men's college volleyball coach * Maxine Hanks, theologian, historian, author, "September Six" * Ogden Kraut, religious author * John L. Moore, former state senator * Darwin Young, former member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate seats. ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Bingham County, Idaho Cities in Idaho