Shelby, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shelby
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Country | United States |
State | Texas |
County | Austin |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Shelby is an unincorporated community in Austin County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 175 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
Geography
Shelby is located at the FM 389 and FM 1457 crossroads in far northwest Austin County. The community is 7.3 miles (11.7 km) northwest of Industry via State Highway 159 and FM 1457. Round Top is 8.0 miles (12.9 km) northwest on FM 1457. Brenham is 17.1 miles (27.5 km) to the northeast on FM 389. Harmonie Hall and the Shelby Volunteer Fire Department are located a short distance to the southwest on FM 389, while the town cemetery can be found a few hundred yards to the south at FM 1457 and Voelkel Road.
History
Otto von Roeder was the first settler in Shelby in 1841. The community was named for David Shelby, one of The Old Three Hundred under Stephen F. Austin. Shelby would become the home of many Adelsverein colonists in 1845, but it was founded a year before that organization was formed in Germany, and three years before the Adelsverein sent its first colonists to Texas . Von Roeder had emigrated to Texas from Westphalia in the 1830s and was not affiliated with the Adelsverein's colonization efforts. Because many of the German settlers spoke Latin, it is believed to be part of the Latin Settlement communities populated in Texas at that time.
Education
The community's first school was established in 1854. It had two schools by 1884. Most of its first settlers were from well-educated, middle-class families promoting the arts and sciences. Today, the community is served by the Bellville Independent School District.