Shelburn
The town of Shelburn was named for Paschal Shelburn, one of the early settlers of Curry Township, who had purchased a large tract of land when he came here in 1818, and lived there until his death at the age of eighty. He was a bachelor. In 1855, about a year after the completion of the railroad, he platted a town on some of his land. There were 33 lots in the original plat, 24 being on the east side of the railroad and the remainder on the west side.
The coal mining industry has always been the main source of profit and support for the town, and the Shelburn Coal Company a quarter of a century ago was one of the large companies of the county. The town had been incorporated, a graded school had been organized, and there were a grist mill and the various stores and professional interests of a village of several hundred population. During the nineties the impression prevailed that the coal deposits of this vicinity were worked out, and the progress of the town was seriously checked until it was discovered that the better veins of coal lay deeper than those already worked. Since then a considerable part of the coal industry of the county has centered about Shelburn, and the population has grown rapidly during the present century. the Mammoth Coal Company was one of the large concerns that gave employment to many miners, for whose accommodation nearly a hundred houses were built south of the old town.
During 1904 and 1905 several notable developments occurred. An addition was built to the old school house, making the building nearly three times its original capacity. A chemical fire engine was bought for the protection of property. In the fall of 1905 the Presbyterian and Christian denominations effected church organization. The oldest churches are the Methodist and the Baptist, the latter having been organized about 1871. In February, 1906, the Baptist Sunday School celebrated its 36th anniversary, commemorating its organization in the old schoolhouse with forty members, of whom the only survivor at this time was J. P. Siner, who was the first Secretary. This was the first religious organization in the town, and was followed about a year later by the organization of the Baptist Church.
Shelburn has been rather in advance of the towns of its size in municipal improvement. It ahs made the beginning of a sewer system, its streets are lighted, and with good schools and churches it affords many advantages to its residents. Shelburn has had several destructive fires -on December 22, 1893, burning Siner's hardware store; and November 15, 1905, which caused a loss of about $5,000.
Source: A History of Sullivan County, Indiana. Closing of the first century’s history of the county and showing the growth of its people, institutions, industries and wealth. Thomas J. Wolfe, Editor. The Lewis Publishing Company, 1909, page 205-206.