In 1732 when he returned with other members of his family, Michael Schell purchased a substantial tract of land where he settled with his family in the Perkiomen Valley northwest of Philadelphia, an area in Upper Hanover Township later known as East Greenville, in what was then Philadelphia County and became Montgomery County in 1760.

At an early age, John Schell Jr. became possessed of considerable means after his patriotic service in the Revolutionary War and his father's death in 1777.

For many years he traveled extensively on business through Bedford County, western Pennsylvania and Kentucky, which was admitted as a state in 1792.

He was impressed by the climate and fertile soil in Kentucky, decided to remove there and select land to establish his own community for his family and friends.

In the spring of 1800, John Schell and his family, consisting of his wife, eight young children and his widowed mother, left their home in Montgomery County and traveled west.

He returned through Napier Township in Bedford County and decided instead to settle in what is the present location of Schellsburg.

In 1808 he laid out the town lots, developed the community and provided impetus for construction of the nearby turnpike as its first president.

John Schell died in 1825, his wife in 1842, and they are buried next to each other in the cemetery which encircles the church, surrounded by generations of family members who followed them.

During the celebration, a Founder's Stone was dedicated and placed at the grave of John Schell, which is further distinguished by a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) marker and flag to commemorate his service in the Revolutionary War.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Schellsburg has a total area of 0.25 square miles (0.66 km2), all land.