Shelby County history

As indicated in the 1820 Shelby County census records, two years after it was created, the county contained 2,492 people; 2,044 whites and 448 Negroes.

The Shelbyville courthouse, built at a cost of $53, was used until 1826, when the decision was made to move the courthouse and the county seat.

However, an act of the Legislature changed its name to Columbiana on January 13, 1832, and the county seat was then permanently located at Columbiana.

February, 1838 Land Commissioners of Shelby County

US-Mexican War 1846-48 | Shelby County in the Civil War | Battle of Memphis | Civil War burials at Elmwood Cemetery and National Cemetery

Yellow Fever Epidemics | Sanitation | Town of South Memphis | Memphis | Ward Boundaries (1849) | Memphis under Martial Law | Memphis becomes a Taxing District

The "Petition to Incorporate Columbiana" is found in Will Book "K" dated August 10, 1853 and was signed by:

Located in historic Columbiana, Alabama, the Old 1854 Courthouse is home to the Shelby County Museum & Archives.

Crump’s party often paid poll taxes (required by state law in 1880), to ensure votes, and registration rolls were sometimes manipulated.

Construction began on the current stone courthouse in 1905 at a then-price of $300,000.

The cornerstone ceremony was held April 5, 1906.

On June 4, 1907, the State Board of Elections appointed three men to the first County Election Commission in Shelby County.

In 1909, a Democrat, H. Crump, was elected Mayor of Memphis.

Shelby County Square - 1930

At that, politics influenced the County Election Commission so much that it was jokingly called the “Crump Election Board.” In 1938, Governor Browning tried to nullify the strength of the Crump machine.

In 1971, Betty Smith (R) became the first woman appointed to the Shelby County Election Commission.

In 1973, Leah Abbott (R) was appointed, marking the first time in the commission’s history that two women had been appointed.

The first black commissioner, Kathryn Bower (D), was appointed in 1975.

In 1977, due to a change in the Tennessee law, the party of majority of the Shelby County Election Commission was determined by the majority party of the Tennessee General Assembly, not the governor.

In 1979, O.C. Pleasant (D) joined the Shelby County Election Commission.

On July 15, 1983 the first "satellite license office" was opened in Pelham, Alabama.

The cornerstone ceremony was held April 5, 1906. It received a multi-million dollar renovation in the early 1990's.

In 1999, the county’s per capita income was 25,520 dollars, with 7.6 percent of the county’s residents living below the poverty level.

The county seat is Sidney, which is the largest community in the county with a population of 20,211 people in 2000.

On March 4, 2006 the contents were removed from the cornerstone and placed on display at the Shelby County Museum & Archives.