Near this site stood Shelbyville, A. T., the first county seat of Shelby County, named for Isaac Shelby, governor of Tennessee. Shelby County was established on February 7, 1818, by an act of the Alabama Territorial legislature. The first orphans’ court was held on April 4, 1818, with justices George Phillips, Patrick Hays, Bennet Ware, Needham Lee, and James Walker.