Sheldon City Hall is located at 416 9th Street, Sheldon, IA 51201. Phone: 712-324-4651.
A small portion of Sheldon extends into Sioux County.
A small portion of Sheldon extends into Sioux County.
Sheldon [†] is located in the far northwest corner of OŐBrien County and a part of the community lies in northeast Sioux County along the Floyd River valley. Sheldon is the largest city in OŐBrien County.
SheldonŐs history began in the early 1870s with construction of the Sioux City&St. Paul Railroad line through the unsettled prairies of northwest Iowa. For much of SheldonŐs history, the community has been a railroad-oriented community. Sheldon, although the largest city in OŐBrien County today, was actually one of the last communities to be organized in OŐBrien County. The City of Sheldon was named for Israel Sheldon, a railroad promoter, shareholder of the Sioux City&St. Paul Railroad Company and resident of New York City. The City of Sheldon was first surveyed and platted by railroad surveyors in 1871. By July 1872, the railroad construction reached the town site. The Original Town Plat of Sheldon, Iowa was filed for record with the OŐBrien County on January 3, 1873. The railroad was called the Chicago&Northwestern line as far back as the 1980s, but has since been renamed the Illinois, Chicago&Milwaukee Railroad. Early on, the community was a strategic rail location for businesses as far away as Omaha and Minneapolis.
Upon completion of the railroad line to Sheldon, the community began to grow in the 1870s and into the 1880s. As early as 1872, the first buildings constructed in the community included a saloon, rail depot and lumber office. In 1874, the community recorded its first marriage and first birth. On April 19, 1875 an election for incorporation as a city in the State of Iowa was held but defeated. The following year, on March 25, 1876 the incorporation issue was brought up for a vote and passed. On May 1, 1876, the first town officers were elected. It was reported that first election was hotly contested with much bitterness between the candidates. The first Mayor of Sheldon was H.B. Wyman. That same year, the Milwaukee Railroad reached Sheldon to be followed twelve years later by the Illinois Central Railroad. The population of Sheldon increased from its original 30 residents in 1873 to a recorded 730 persons in the cityŐs first decennial census in 1880. The community continued to grow rapidly during the late 1880s and positioned itself to become an important transportation, retail and industrial center for the northwest Iowa region.
One of the early progressive enterprises that gave Sheldon much popularity in the early days was development of the District Fair. This fair originally embraced several counties in northwest Iowa. The fair association was organized in 1880 and operated a fair until 1888. Then in 1900, the Sheldon District Fair was organized. That same year, the District Fair purchased 27 acres of land near the town, just over the county line in Sioux County. The land cost $100 per acre, of which was thought to be high at the time. In addition to the land purchase, six thousand dollars were invested into the grounds including amenities such as a half-mile track, floral hall, cattle and horse sheds, and barns suited for training horses. The annual fair and horse races attracted people from both near and far and was a major attraction in northwest Iowa. Thousands attended annually.
One of SheldonŐs more infamous stories from its past includes the Geiger family that owned the Sheldon National Bank. In 1961, the city made headlines when Burnice Geiger, the daughter of the bank owner and a cashier at the bank was found to have embezzled more than two million dollars from the bank operated by her father. Burnice was also the bankŐs largest shareholder at the time. She was found guilty and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but paroled 5 years later.
There is one building of national historical interest located in Sheldon. The old Sheldon Carnegie Library building was designated by the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Today, this building is no longer used as the cityŐs library, but rather it is used as the home of the Sheldon Prairie Museum.
† City of Sheldon, 2015 Comprehensive Land Use Plan,, www.sheldon.gov, accessed May, 2025.