Shelby Court

Shelby Court complex includes the Shelby justice court and the Shelby city court both of which lie in the Ninth judicial district of Montana. The justice court handles civic and traffic infractions occurring throughout the county with the exception of those infractions occurring within the city limits of Shelby. Those are handled by the city court. IS 15 runs all the way through Toole county and on the way meets SR 215, SR 343 and US 2. SR 417 runs from the Southeastern part of the count to meet US 2. IS 15 Business Bypass and US 2 meet in Shelby.

Around 1891 when the Montana-Central railroad was under construction to reach to Marias Pass; a box car was removed from the train and placed along the right of way to be designated as a station which was to become Shelby. At first it was only a place where cowboys hung their hats but in the beginning of the second decade of the 20th century thousands of homesteaders filed their claims for land here. Unfortunately the droughts which followed drove many of them away. However, around 1921 oil was discovered all the way to the Canadian border and Shelby was reborn. On July 4, 1923 the Dempsey-Gibbons World Heavyweight Championship prizefight was held here. The Marias Museum of History and Art is located in the former Fulton family home. Besides the unusual exhibit and display of saw clocks, the museum has displays of various and interesting collections and settings. There are farm tools, an office, dishes, firearms, old toys, a switchboard, saddles, Native-American artifacts and memorabilia of the Dempsey-Gibboins championship fight. In the nearby Sweetgrass Hills you can spot elk and on the prairies throughout the area animals such as Mule deer, Pronghorn antelope, Sharptail grouse, Hungarian partridge, and Chinese Ringneck pheasant can be seen.