Editing Shelton, Nebraska

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Shelton, Nebraska
|settlement_type          = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Meisner Bank SE entrance.JPG
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Shelton Historical Interpretive Centre in Meisner Bank Building
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map = Hall_County_Nebraska_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Shelton_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Shelton, Nebraska
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Nebraska]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Nebraska|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Buffalo County, Nebraska|Buffalo]], [[Hall County, Nebraska|Hall]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 18, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 2.52
|area_land_km2            = 2.52
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.97
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.97
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 1034
|population_density_km2   = 410.82
|population_density_sq_mi = 1063.79

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 2018
|coordinates              = {{coord|40|46|42|N|98|43|46|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 68876
|area_code                = [[Area code 308|308]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 31-44700<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2399798<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2399798}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|villageofshelton.com/}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
}}
'''Shelton''' is a [[village]] in [[Buffalo County, Nebraska|Buffalo]] and [[Hall County, Nebraska|Hall]] counties, [[Nebraska]], United States.<ref>{{GNIS|833382}}</ref> It is part of the [[Kearney, Nebraska]] [[Kearney micropolitan area|Micropolitan Statistical Area]]. The population was 1,059 at the [[United States Census, 2010|2010 census]]. It is located west of [[Grand Island, Nebraska|Grand Island]] along both the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] and [[U.S. Route 30 in Nebraska|U.S. Route 30]]. Nebraska Link 10-D connects Shelton with [[Interstate 80 in Nebraska|Interstate 80]].

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of {{convert|0.73|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=June 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archivedate=January 25, 2012}}</ref>

The downtown business district is situated near the banks of the [[Wood River (Nebraska)|Wood River]] and the historic [[Lincoln Highway]] (now U.S. Highway 30) passes through Shelton.

==History==
Shelton, evolving from Wood River Centre, is one of the older communities in Nebraska.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton">{{cite web|last=Duncan|first=Douglas|title=Shelton - Buffalo County|url=http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/buffalo/shelton/|work=Virtual Nebraska|publisher=Consortium for the Application of Space Data to Education (CASDE)|accessdate=November 9, 2012}}</ref>  The first European settler to live in the area was a [[Mormon]] by the name of Joseph Johnson in 1858.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>  His store, blacksmithery, wagon repair shop, tintype gallery, bakery, place where meals could be obtained, and printing office served early pioneers.<ref name="Bassett 1916 145">{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=145}}</ref>  The "Huntsman's Echo", his publication, was the first newspaper west of [[Omaha]]<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/> and was established in April 1860.<ref name="Bassett 1916 145"/>  His establishment (Johnson's Ranche) found itself as an important point of supply serving Mormons and other travelers on the Council Bluffs Road.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wood River Valley Historical Society|title=JOSEPH E. JOHNSON AND THE HUNTSMAN'S ECHO|url=http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/markers/texts/huntsmans_echo.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040820033709/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/markers/texts/huntsmans_echo.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 20, 2004|work=State Historical Marker, Shelton NE|publisher=Nebraska State Historical Society|accessdate=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

Prior to service by the railroad, The Great Western Stage Company established a stage station at Wood River Center in 1860 to serve its Fort Kearny route.<ref name="Bassett 1916 146">{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=146}}</ref>  The Union Pacific Railroad came to the area in 1866;<ref>{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=145–161}}</ref> with additional settlers, the need to establish government was realized.  Patrick Walsh, Martin Slattery, and a Sergeant Cody petitioned the governor to organize Buffalo County in 1869.<ref name="Bassett 1916 146"/>  Wood River Centre (Shelton) was selected through election to be the county seat.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>   Within a year, the seat was moved to [[Gibbon, Nebraska|Gibbon]].<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>

Patrick Walsh, the community postman, wrote the Postmaster General in 1873 with the plea to change the name of Wood River Centre to Shelton to avoid confusion with [[Wood River, Nebraska|Wood River]], a community to the east.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>  The post office name was changed from Wood River Center to Shelton on February 3, 1873.<ref name="Bassett 1916 147">{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=147}}</ref>  Shelton held the name of Wood River Center from 1860 to about 1873.<ref name="Bassett 1916 145"/>  No further correspondence about the naming of Shelton is recorded.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>  The name, Shelton, is derived from the name of an auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad, Nathan Shelton.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>

[[Image:Shelton Township Library, Shelton NE.JPG|thumb|left|Shelton Township Library, Shelton NE]]  The original townsite was surveyed from the homestead farm of Patrick Walsh, followed by a survey from the Union Pacific Railway Company.<ref name="Bassett 1916 147"/>  It was 1876 before the Union Pacific established a station.<ref name="Bassett 1916 147"/>  With incorporation in 1882, the community grew and was home to "The Shelton Clipper" formerly "The Shelton Clarion", several banks, and a community school.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>  As early as 1866, people of the Shelton area organized together to form the first schoolhouse in Buffalo County.<ref name="Bassett 1916 152">{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=152}}</ref>  By 1876, a new school district was organized; it was legally known as No. 19 in Buffalo County.<ref name="Bassett 1916 152"/>  In January 1908, the community library was officially organized as the Shelton Public Library with a village tax being levied for its support.<ref name="Bassett 1916 154">{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=154}}</ref>  A [[Carnegie Library]] building was funded on April 7, 1913.<ref name="Bassett 1916 154"/>

The population of Shelton has been relatively consistent since its early years, always maintaining a population around 1,000 individuals.<ref name="Virtual Nebraska - Shelton"/>  The population of Shelton in 1910 was 1,005.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=Samuel Clay|title=Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume 1|year=1916|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|oclc=3358457|pages=148}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1890= 706
|1900= 861
|1910= 1005
|1920= 1087
|1930= 927
|1940= 983
|1950= 1032
|1960= 904
|1970= 1028
|1980= 1046
|1990= 954
|2000= 1140
|2010= 1059
|2020= 1034
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=June 24, 2012}}</ref> of 2010, there were 1,059 people, 391 households, and 283 families living in the village. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1450.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 442 housing units at an average density of {{convert|605.5|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the village was 85.6% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.5% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.6% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 12.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.2% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 18.4% of the population.

There were 391 households, of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.6% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.23.

The median age in the village was 34.7 years. 31.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.1% male and 49.9% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,140 people, 425 households, and 308 families living in the village. The population density was {{convert|1,551.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 460 housing units at an average density of {{convert|626.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 87.98% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.79% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.26% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 10.18% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.79% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 16.67% of the population.

There were 425 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 31.4% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the village was $37,583, and the median income for a family was $42,381. Males had a median income of $28,864 versus $20,972 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $16,232. About 7.2% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
<references />

{{Commons}}

{{Buffalo County, Nebraska}}
{{Hall County, Nebraska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Buffalo County, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Villages in Hall County, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Villages in Nebraska]]
[[Category:Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area]]