The Germans' penchant for thrift proved to be a valuable asset to the area's economic and social growth. As German immigrants arrived to work on the canal, on the land, and in the shops, business in Sidney and Shelby County expanded. The canal brought a business boom which in turn drove farm product prices to previously unknown heights. The actual construction provided the initial boost the real benefit proved to be the opportunity for increased commerce presented by this new transportation link. It also changed the way new immigrants traveled to Shelby County from Cincinnati in the south and by 1845, Lake Erie in the north. The Miami and Erie Canal, which reached Shelby County in 1841, provided jobs for many of the county's European immigrants. Several towns in Shelby County were established by German immigrants.
Its original boundary included Minster and New Bremen these were included in Auglaize County when it was created in 1848 from Shelby and Allen counties. Shelby County was created in 1819 from Miami County. Early settlers named the first county seat of Hardin in his memory. In 1792 the European-American pioneer John Hardin was killed by the Shawnee in Shelby County. The Shawnee were joined by the Iroquois, Seneca and Mingo peoples as well, displaced by colonial encroachment to the east. The Algonquian-speaking Shawnee Native Americans had come into the area in the 18th century, displacing the Ojibwa-speaking Ottawa of the Anishinaabeg, a related language group who moved northwest. Main articles: History of Ohio and Prehistory of Ohio