Around 1891 when the Montana-Central railroad was under construction to reach to Marias Pass; a box car was removed from the train and placed along the right of way to be designated as a station which was to become Shelby. At first it was only a place where cowboys hung their hats but in the beginning of the second decade of the 20th century thousands of homesteaders filed their claims for land here. Unfortunately the droughts which followed drove many of them away. However, around 1921 oil was discovered all the way to the Canadian border and Shelby was reborn. On July 4, 1923 the Dempsey-Gibbons World Heavyweight Championship prizefight was held here. The Marias Museum of History and Art is located in the former Fulton family home. Besides the unusual exhibit and display of saw clocks, the museum has displays of various and interesting collections and settings. There are farm tools, an office, dishes, firearms, old toys, a switchboard, saddles, Native-American artifacts and memorabilia of the Dempsey-Gibboins championship fight. In the nearby Sweetgrass Hills you can spot elk and on the prairies throughout the area animals such as Mule deer, Pronghorn antelope, Sharptail grouse, Hungarian partridge, and Chinese Ringneck pheasant can be seen.