Shelbyville Walking Tour

Enjoy a brief walking tour around Historic Shelbyville, brought to you by Leadership Shelby County and Shelby County Historical Society.

The City of Shelbyville

The county seat of Shelby County and named after Isaac Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky, Shelbyville was platted in 1822. The land that became Shelbyville was originally owned by John Hendricks, John Walker, and James Davison, who had donated 70 acres for the purpose of making a county seat. The land, which was dense forests, was cleared, and in 1823, the Public Square was laid out.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the city became a leading producer of furniture. It has been called home by Sandy Allen, who was once the tallest living female in the world; Edna Parker, who was the oldest living person in the world at the age of 115; Charles Major, author of “Bears of Blue River” and “When Knighthood was in Flower”’; Wilbur Shaw, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner; James Pierce, the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film; Victor Higgins, a painter; Thomas Hendricks, the 21st Vice President of the United States; James “Bucky” Barnes, a fiction character from Marvel Comics and sidekick to Captain America; and William Garrett, the first African-American basketball player in the Big Ten Conference for Indiana University.