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Physical Features: East Texas county; partly hills, much bottomland; well-timbered, 67,762 acres in national forest; Attoyac Bayou, other streams; Toledo Bend Reservoir, Pinkston Reservoir; sandy, clay, alluvial soils.

Economy: Poultry, timber, cattle, tourism.

History: Caddo Indian area. First Anglo-Americans settled in the 1810s. Antebellum slaveholding area. Original county of the Republic, created in 1836; organized in 1837; named for Isaac Shelby of American Revolution.

Race/Ethnicity: (In percent) Anglo, 61.5; Black, 17.8; Hispanic, 18.3; Asian, 1.7; Other, 1.1; Two or more races, 1.4.

Vital Statistics, annual: Births, 351; deaths, 300; marriages, 178; divorces, 65.

Recreation: Toledo Bend Reservoir activities; Sabine National Forest; hunting, fishing; camping; historic sites, restored 1885 courthouse.

Minerals: Natural gas, oil.

Agriculture: First in poultry and egg production. Beef cattle. Hay. Market value $473.2 million. Timber sales significant.

CENTER (5,210) county seat; poultry, timber, oil and gas, tourism; hospital, Panola College extension, museum; What-A-Melon festival in July, poultry festival in October.

Other towns: Huxley (377); Joaquin (805); Shelbyville (600); Tenaha (1,107); Timpson (1,164) livestock, timber, farming, commuters, genealogy library, Frontier Days in July.

The old Shelby County Courthouse in Center. Photo by Robert Plocheck.