SHELBY – The red brick building with three white garages next to Black Fork Commons offers an unimpressive scene at first glance.
It’s clearly historic, with signs of weathered age on its foundation, but nothing overtly reveals its heritage.
The building is Shelby’s Historic Engine House, built in 1872. It once housed horse-drawn engines for Shelby’s Fire Department. The Shelby Cycle Historical Society purchased the structure to transition it into the Steel & Wheel Museum, confirmed by the city council on Monday.
“The purchase of the engine house is a dream realized,” Shelby Cycle Historical Society President Christina Yetzer Drain said. “This building has witnessed generations of Shelby’s history.
“By preserving it and giving it a new purpose, we are creating a place where future generations can discover the remarkable stories of the people and industries that built our community.”
The Steel & Wheel Museum Drain and the Shelby Cycle Historical Society hope to complete the project in the coming year, which will house interactive displays of Shelby’s history. The engine house marks the perfect place, predating several of Shelby’s founding industries, including the seamless tube industry.
“This is more than preserving a historic building,” Drain said. “It is about preserving Shelby’s legacy of innovation and ensuring these stories continue to inspire future
generations.”
The reformation will be made possible through several grants. One grant was from ArcelorMittal, a steel and mining company with a location at 132 W. Main St. in Shelby, worth $50,000.
Adding a bathroom to the engine room’s basement and painting the walls to make way for the museum redesign are at the top of the Cycle Historical Society’s list for the transformation. ArcelorMittal’s grant will make this possible.
“I love that our vision is coming together and will be loved and cherished by so many
people,” ArcelorMittal Executive Assistant Ashley Canfield said.
Another funding vehicle is “Faces of the Factory: The Tube Works.” Patrons who donate $100 can sponsor an ancestor, having their face, lifespan and role displayed on the Shelby Cycle History website.
There is no set open date for the Steel & Wheel Museum, though Drain says she hopes for spring of 2027. Once open, the museum will be run by a cast of volunteers, which the Shelby Cycle Historical Society should “have no shortage of,” Drain said.
Drain hopes the museum will be open every Sunday.
The purchase of the historic engine house was made for the past and the future.
With the Shelby Bicycle Museum, housed at the Shelby Justice Center, the Steel & Wheel museum will offer accessibility to Shelby’s history for all generations. Its location on Main Street only adds to that accessibility.
