Shelby County, KY: World-Class Host
August 29, 2019
Known as the “American Saddlebred Capital of the World,” Shelby County is home to world-class equestrian events. It also houses the Presidential Mint Julep Cup at Wakefield-Scearce Galleries in Shelbyville and was designed by the gallery’s co-founder during Franklin Roosevelt’s administration. Old Stone Inn & Tavern in Simpsonville is more than 200 years old and now has a new owner and executive chef, David Danielson, who is also the executive chef at Churchill Downs.
Bourbon has been a draw in the county since the 2016 opening of Jeptha Creed Distillery, followed by Bulleit Distilling Co. a year later. Bulleit’s 300-acre campus has a 52-foot still and four barrel houses, each capable of holding 55,000 barrels, and a new visitor center. To attract more groups and individual travelers, ShelbyKY Tourism spreads the word nationally and recently received two Traverse Awards from the Kentucky Travel Industry Association Board.
County Seat: Shelbyville; David Eaton, mayor; shelbyvillekentucky.com
Estimated 2019 population: 48,518
Number of households: 16,369
Median household income: $63,171
Shelby County Chamber of Commerce: Belinda Nichols, president; shelbycountykychamber.com
Judge-Executive: Dan Ison; shelbycountykentucky.com
ShelbyKY Tourism & Visitors Bureau: Katie Fussenegger, executive director; visitshelbyky.com
Upcoming Events
In 1926, a group of business and professional people in our community joined together to find ways to advance and enhance Shelby County. Since that time, the Chamber has been working to improve the economic well-being of our community by coordinating ideas, energy, and financial resources to accomplish collectively what none of us could accomplish individually.
We invite you to join us as we continue to support commerce and promote growth to enhance the quality of life in Shelby County.
Come and CONNECT, BUILD and GROW with us!
A special thanks to our Presidential Sponsors for their continued support!
