horizontal banner with Preserve America logo and images of a historic downtown, farm, courthouse, and mountain

Preserve America is a White House initiative in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the U.S. Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities; and the President's Council on Environmental Quality.

The seal of the President of the United StatesAdvisory Council on Historic Preservation logoU.S. Department of the Interior sealU.S. Department of Commerce seal
U.S. Department of Agriculture logo
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development logo

 

Preserve America Community:
Shelbyville, Kentucky

Shelbyville (population 10,085), the seat of Shelby County, was founded in 1792 and was located on one of the main pioneer routes through the wilderness.

As today's center of Kentucky's saddle horse industry Shelbyville's historic downtown is the hub of the rural farming community of Shelby County, located between the larger cities of Louisville and Frankfort.

The picturesque streets are lined with renovated storefronts, quaint cafes, and antique and specialty shops. The tree-lined streets and brick-paved walkways are highlighted by late-Victorian-style buildings, many of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

A downtown focal point is the world-renowned Wakefield-Scearce Galleries in the historic Science Hill buildings (circa 1790 and a well-known girl's school in the 19th and early 20th centuries).

Shelbyville, billed as the American Saddlebred Horse Capital of the World, hosts the annual Shelbyville horse show jubilee that attracts participants and tourists from all over the country.

For more information

City of Shelbyville: www.shelbyvillekentucky.com
Shelbyville-Shelby County Tourism: www.shelbyvilleky.com

Updated November 23, 2004

Return to Top