Local city information for Shelley, ID

Shelley is a city in Bingham County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,813 at the 2000 census. The mascot for the town's only high school is "King Russet", a russet-burbank potato that wears a crown, robe and scepter.

Since 1927 Shelley has been home to the "Idaho Annual Spud Day", which is celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of September. It typically features a parade, live bands, games (such as a tug of war into a pit of mashed potatoes) and free baked potatoes.


Shelley was established in 1904. It was named for John F. Shelley, who moved to the area in 1892. He'd moved to the area intending to open a small store, and needed lumber and other supplies to build it. Since the site was some distance from the nearest existing town he asked the railroad company to make a special stop to offload the supplies he'd ordered. They consented, provided he could offload the supplies in under 20 minutes. His daughter, Lottie, wrote the following in her personal history:

Image:John_F_Shelley.JPG |John F. Shelley
Image:John_F_Shelley_Family.JPG |John F. Shelley and his wife stand in the background. In the foreground are the rest of his family: Mary, Tom, Charlotte (Lottie), Docia, Hannah Davis


On September 4, 1902 a large fire destroyed seven buildings on State Street. Only two buildings, a general merchandise store and a furniture store, were saved. Soren Yorgensen, a local Justice of the Peace and proprieter of the first hotel in Shelley recounts the experience as follows:

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