Every building on the square
Shelbyville’s courthouse square was laid out in 1810 as a full city block — the first of its type in Tennessee, and a plan other new towns copied. Walk all four sides: what the 1921 fire insurance map printed in each storefront, and who is there today.
Pick a side Through the decades Square Detective
New: Square Detective. We notice. You tell us. Where was the fire engine house in 1921? What sat where the five-story Gunter Building stands now? Look closely at the old map labels, then make your case.
Then and now
We only post a then-and-now pair when we have a rights-cleared old photo of an identifiable storefront. For Shelbyville that search found none yet (TSLA courthouse photos are rights “Copyright not evaluated”; no square postcard with a clear storefront ID). The courthouse itself: the 1921 map against a 2008 photograph.
Have an old photo of a storefront on the square? Share it and we’ll add a pair.
Pick a side
The square through the decades
- 1887Sanborn map
- 1891Sanborn map
- 1894Sanborn map
- 1899Sanborn map
- 1905Sanborn map
- 1910Sanborn map
- 1921Sanborn map
- 1929not digitized at LOC
- 1950not digitized at LOC
Legend: years with a Sanborn sheet we cropped for the square. 1929 and 1950 editions exist but are not digitized at the Library of Congress.
1887
March 1887 Sanborn map Sheet 2. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 1891
July 1891 Sanborn map Sheet 3. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 1894
Aug. 1894 Sanborn map Sheet 3. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 1899
May 1899 Sanborn map Sheet 3. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 1905
July 1905 Sanborn map Sheet 3. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 1910
June 1910 Sanborn map Sheet 6. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 1921
Sept. 1921 Sanborn map Sheet 2. Library of Congress (public domain). Cropped by Our Town Almanac. 2007
Downtown Shelbyville, 2007 Photo: Obiezyswiat, 5 Oct 2007, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Credits 2008
The square, 2008 Photo: Ichabod, 23 Nov 2008, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Credits
Gaps: we have not yet read lot-level labels on the pre-1921 editions. The timeline shows the square sheet; building cards use the 1921 numbers.
On the square today
From our directory, Nov. 1, 2026. Please check with a business before you go.
North · Public Square N
First United Methodist Church
122 Public Square N
Joe M. Lambert Law Office
100 Public Square N #3
U.S. Bank Branch
100 Public Square N
East · Public Square E
The Center For Family Development
124 Public Square E
Pope's Cafe
120 Public Square E
Aztec Beauty Esthetics
118 Public Square E
Wildhorse Salon
118 Public Square E Ste g
Chambers Aesthetics
118 Public Square E Ste E
Shamrock Family Medicine- Tn
118 Public Square E Ste A
Structure Title Group, LLC
118 Public Square E Ste A
CSR Engineering
116 Public Square E
Hemenway Law
112 Public Square E
Brandon Properties
112 Public Square E
Jessi Osborn LMT
112 Public Square E
Finn & Riley
112 Public Square E
David E. Brown, CPA
110 Public Square E
Heritage Jewelers
108 Public Square E
J Jordan Boutique
104 Public Square E
Salon 102 - A Paul Mitchell Salon and Head Spa
102 Public Square E
South · Public Square S
Glass Hollow Table & Tavern
123 Public Square S
The Coffee Break
121 Public Square S
Sweet and Sassy Nails
119 Public Square S
Hitchcock Insurance
113 Public Square S
THE GINGHAM JELLYBEAN
111 Public Square S
The Pomegranate Shoppe
107 Public Square S
Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio
105 Public Square S
Caswell and clay
105 Public Square S
Talk Of The Town Boutique
105 Public Square S
Toodlebug's
101 Public Square S
West · Public Square W
Yesterdays Treasures
105 Public Square W
Bedford County Tax Assessor
100 Public Square W Ste 301
Shelbyville-Bedford Partnership
100 Public Square W Ste 210
Bedford County Clerk
100 Public Square W Ste 104
Bedford County Trustee
100 Public Square W Ste 102
Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce
100 Public Square W Ste 210
Serenity Reflexology Studio
105 Public Square W
How to read this page
- The history lines come from fire insurance maps. The Sanborn Map Company drew downtown Shelbyville in 1887, 1891, 1894, 1899, 1905, 1910 and 1921. The 1921 sheets print street numbers that match today’s style on the east, south and north sides. We give what each label means and the label as printed, with a link to the map sheet. (Library of Congress, Sanborn Maps)
- West-side numbers changed. 1921 N. Spring odd numbers do not line up with today’s Public Square W addresses, so west cards have no per-building “today” match — only a side list.
- One printed number differs. On the south side the 1921 map prints 106 where today’s 105 Public Square S sits; the card notes that.
- “Today” comes from our directory as of Nov. 1, 2026. Courthouse offices are listed under the courthouse address, not on the side cards.
- See something we got wrong? Every card has a Tell us link.
Help fill in the square
The maps stop in 1921. If you know what a storefront held later, or you have an old photo of the square, we’d like to hear from you. We add what we can source and credit it.
Sources for every page about the square
- Sanborn Map Co., fire insurance maps of Shelbyville, Tenn.: March 1887, July 1891, Aug. 1894, May 1899, July 1905, June 1910, Sept. 1921 (sheet 2, sheet 3). Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. Public domain.
- National Register of Historic Places nomination, Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District (82001725), listed 1982.
- Price, Edward T., “The Central Courthouse Square in the American County Seat,” Geographical Review 58:1 (1968), pp. 29–60 (cited in the NRHP nomination).
- Our Town Almanac Shelbyville directory, checked Nov. 1, 2026.