Editing Shelley, Idaho (section)

==History==
Shelley was established in 1904.  It was named for John F. Shelley, who moved to the area in 1892.  He'd moved to the area intending to open a small store, and needed lumber and other supplies to build it. Since the site was some distance from the nearest existing community, he asked the railroad company to make a special stop to offload the supplies he'd ordered.  They consented, provided he could offload the supplies in under 20 minutes. His daughter, Lottie, wrote the following in her personal history: {{Blockquote|With the help of Chris Mickelson and others, the lumber was thrown off the train on both sides of the track. Later a spur was put in here by the railroad company.
Now they needed a name for the town. Mother suggested 'Shelco'; Father said, 'Shelton,' so they drew cuts and Mother won."
Shelco was submitted to the railroad company and they replied: 'Call your town what you wish, but we have already named the spur, '''Shelley''' '. That is how the town got its name.|Charlotte Shelley| <ref name="Bingham County History 1985">"Bingham County History, ''Written and Compiled by the People of Bingham County''". Taylor Publishing Company. 1985.
Library of Congress number 85072293</ref>}}
<gallery widths="180px" heights="120px" class="center">
File:John_F_Shelley.JPG |John F. Shelley
File:John_F_Shelley_Family.JPG |John F. Shelley and his wife stand in the background.  In the foreground are the rest of his family: Mary, Tom, Charlotte (Lottie), Docia, Hannah Davis
</gallery>

On September 4, 1902 a large fire destroyed seven buildings on State Street. Only two buildings, a general merchandise store and Nalder's furniture store, were saved. Soren Yorgesen, a local Justice of the Peace and proprietor of the first hotel in Shelley recounts the experience as follows: {{Blockquote| ...One windy afternoon in the heat of the summer, a fire started in a small grocery store operated by James Jensen.  It did not take long until the wind was fanning a flame that wiped out quite a long string of frame buildings - two saloons, restaurant, Odd Fellows Hall, Post Office and Confectionery, Grocery Store, and dwelling.|Soren Yorgesen|<ref name="Bingham County History 1985"/>}}