Northern Missouri

Shelbyville is the seat, but Shelbina is the bigger town

Newcomers often assume the county seat is the largest town; in Shelby County the courthouse sits in small Shelbyville while commerce and rail concentrate in Shelbina, which changes where you go for government versus services

Shelby County does its work in two towns. The first is Shelbyville. It sits near the middle of the county. Shelbyville is the county seat. That means it is the home of county government. The courthouse and county offices are there. So are the assessor (who sets the value of your property) and the collector (who takes in your taxes). The second town is Shelbina. It sits in the southern part of the county. It is on the U.S. 36 highway and the rail line. Shelbina grew into the county’s bigger town for business. So your trips may split in two. Go to Shelbyville for county business and records. Go to Shelbina for a lot of shopping, services, and highway travel. Check which office is where, and its hours, on the Shelby County government website before you drive.

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Where this fits: this note belongs to Shelby County. See every local note for the county on its page.

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