Town Sign Project: Shelby County

A few weeks back I made a solo town harvesting trip to Shelby County.

Here are some facts about Shelby County:

+ Population is 11,746. Making it the 65th most populous county in Iowa. Below Lyon County and above Cherokee County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Harlan.
+ Formed in 1851.
+ Named after Revolutionary War hero Isaac Shelby.
+ Major highways are: US-59, IA-37, IA-44, IA-173, and IA-191.
+ Adjacent counties are: Crawford, Audubon, Cass, Pottawattamie, and Harrison.
+ Population peaked in 1900 at 17.932.

The Shelby County Courthouse is pretty:

The Shelby County Courthouse in Harlan, Iowa.

The Shelby County Courthouse is located in Earling, Iowa:

With Shelby County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

45 counties completed. 45.5% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Shelby County:

Harlan, Iowa
HARLAN
A growing tradition
Population: 4,893 (+48)

Shelby, Iowa
WELCOME TO SHELBY
Population: 727 (+76)

Elk Horn, Iowa
Welcome to ELK HORN
Population: 601 (+65)

Earling, Iowa
WELCOME TO EARLING
Population: 397 (+27)

Irwin, Iowa
Welcome to… IRWIN
Home of the…. STATE CHAMPS
Population: 319 (-25)

Defiance, Iowa
welcome to DEFIANCE
Population: 245 (+41)

Panama, Iowa
RIDE-WALK-RUN PANAMA
EST 1882
Population: 235 (+31)

Portsmouth, Iowa
WELCOME TO PORTSMOUTH
BIGGEST LITTLE TOWN IN THE U.S.
Population: 182 (+56)

Portsmouth back of sign.

Westphalia, Iowa
WELCOME TO WESTPHALIA IOWA
FOUNDED 1872
Population: 123 (-23)

Tennant, Iowa
WELCOME TO TENNANT
EST. 1903
Population: 78 (+8)

Kirkman, Iowa
WELCOME TO KIRKMAN
Population: 56 (-12)

Shelby County has a solid but maybe not spectacular collection of signs. I don’t know that there is a bad sign, but if I have to give a worst sign out, I’d give it to Westphalia. Looks like the cornerstone to a bank.

As for Best in Show in Shelby County, I love the sign in Portsmouth and I don’t usually count murals as town signs, but this mural is definitely the first thing you see when you pull into Panama, but Best in Show clearly goes to Elk Horn:

Elk Horn – Best in Show – Shelby County

There are a few alternate town signs in Shelby County: