Shelby, Ohio

Shelby is a city in Richland County in the U.S. state of Ohio, northwest of the city of Mansfield. It is part of the Mansfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,317 as of the 2010 census.

2007 flood
On August 21, 2007, Black Fork of the Mohican River, which runs through the center of town, overflowed its banks, damaging much of the downtown area.

Geography
Shelby is located at 40.88472°N, -82.65944°W (40.884645, -82.659529), along the Black Fork of the Mohican River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.49 sqmi, of which, 6.35 sqmi is land and 0.14 sqmi is water.

Demographics
84.40% of Shelby residents are high school graduates and 14.6% hold at least a Bachelor's degree.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,451, and the median income for a family was $43,373. The per capita income for the city was $21,777. About 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line. Females account for 30.80% of businesses ownership in Shelby.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 9,317 people, 3,911 households, and 2,510 families residing in the city. The population density was 1467.2 PD/sqmi. There were 4,354 housing units at an average density of 685.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 98.2% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.

There were 3,911 households of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.91.

The median age in the city was 40.1 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.2% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.

Notable natives

 * Charles Follis, the first black professional football player, played for the Shelby Blues Football team.
 * Larry Siegfried, professional basketball player who played for Boston Celtics and  earlier for the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Lived in Shelby.
 * The Centennial Light bulb, of Livermore, California, the world's longest-lasting incandescent light bulb, was made in Shelby.
 * William W. Skiles, a U.S. congressman. The football field is named after him.
 * Dawn Powell, a writer from the 20th century lived in Shelby for a period of time.
 * Robert W. Houk, a Public Printer of the United States and head of the United States Government Printing Office from 1990 to 1993.

Parks
The city of Shelby has five parks which are operated and maintained by the city of Shelby Parks Department.

Hospital
MedCentral Shelby Hospital, formerly Shelby Memorial Hospital, is part of MedCentral Health System, the largest medical community between Cleveland and Columbus.

Library
The sole library in the city of Shelby is Marvin Memorial Library, which was added to the National Register Of Historic Places on 10-13-1987. Marvin Library offers Story Time and summer reading programs for youth, a Teen Cafe for teenagers and the Adult Book Club for adults. Community meeting rooms and computer access are also offered through the library.

Marvin Library is named for Dan Marvin, a veteran of the American Civil War. He participated in the battles of Shiloh & Stone River, and was severely wounded. He purchased a house on West Whitney Avenue for $6,500 and presented it to the city in the early 1900s. His generosity to the city was greatly appreciated and memorialized in the name of the library.

Public safety

 * Fire and EMS - Shelby Fire Department
 * Police - Shelby Police Department - 15 sworn officers and 4 dispatchers.

Facilities
As a result of the 2007 flooding, the former police department building was severely damaged and was demolished in August 2009. The police department is currently housed in a temporary facility. In May 2011, Shelby voters approved a bond issue allowing for construction of a new Police & Court facility. The city held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new justice center on December 18th, 2012. The new facility will be built on the corner of Mack and Tucker Avenues in downtown Shelby. The new facility is expected to be up and running by the end of 2013 early 2014.

The Shelby Fire Department operates out of the oldest operating fire station in the state of Ohio, built in 1872. Though also heavily damaged in the 2007 flood, the Shelby Fire Department remained in their historic building alongside the Black Fork of the Mohican River.

METRICH
The Shelby Police Department works jointly with METRICH, an investigative group that began in 1986 with a goal of reducing availability of illegal drugs in Richland County region.

Education
Shelby's public education is provided by the Shelby City School District [6 ]. The district serves students in kindergarten through high school in six school facilities. Shelby High School is in the process of constructing a new, state of the art facility adjacent to the current high school's location. The new Shelby High School is scheduled to open in 2013. Shelby High School was one of five "Race to the Top" grant recipients in the State of Ohio in 2011 and is scheduled to implement a new technology & project based curriculum as a result.