Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Sheldon Sheldon, IA

Sheldon is the largest city in O'Brien County, sitting along the Floyd River in northwest Iowa, with a small part of the city extending into neighboring Sioux County.

Sheldon got its start with the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad: railroad surveyors first surveyed and platted the town in 1871, and the Original Town Plat of Sheldon was filed for record on January 3, 1873.

The city was named for Israel Sheldon, a railroad promoter and shareholder of the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad Company who lived in New York City.

After an incorporation vote failed in 1875, Sheldon voters approved incorporation on March 25, 1876, and the town elected its first officers that May.

Sheldon had just 30 residents in 1873 and 730 people in its first decennial census in 1880, but it has grown steadily ever since.

The population of Sheldon was 5,512 at the 2020 census, making it one of the larger small cities in northwest Iowa.

Sheldon has about 2,186 households, according to the 2020 census, and a median age of about 37 years — younger than most rural Iowa communities.

Sheldon is home to Northwest Iowa Community College, a two-year community college serving the northwest corner of the state.

Sheldon High School's athletic teams are the Orabs, a name built from the school colors, orange and black, and the school also hosts the Sheldon High School Summer Theatre program.

Sheldon is known locally for its annual display of marigolds, which are planted across the community each year.