Shelby

City and administrative headquarters of Toole County, northern Montana, 116 km/72 mi northwest of Great Falls; population (1990) 2,7800. It has oil and gas wells and a refinery, houses large grain elevators, and deals in grain, livestock, poultry, and dairy products. It is also an important rail shipping point.

Founded in 1863, it was situated on the route of the Great Northern Railway and became a trade centre for cowboys and sheepherders. Its development was spurred by the discovery of oil in 1921.

Shelby

City and administrative headquarters of Cleveland County, southwestern North Carolina, in the Piedmont, 61 km/38 mi northwest of Charlotte; population (1990) 14,700. It is the market centre of an agricultural region that produces fruit, dairy products, beef cattle, and cotton. Textiles are important, augmented by lumbering and the manufacture of hosiery, flour, and baked goods.

Settlement began around 1760, and the town was chartered in 1843. Arrival of the railway in 1870 stimulated growth, and textile manufacturing became the city's chief industry. Shelby is home to Cleveland Community College (1965).

Shelby

City in north-central Ohio, 16 km/10 mi northwest of Mansfield; population (1990) 9,600. It is surrounded by a rich farming area in which grain is a leading crop. Car parts are manufactured.