[1] Settlers began arriving in the area in the late 19th century and, in 1894, a post office named after the Shell Brook was established.

Larger numbers of settlers began to arrive in the district in the early 20th century, with significant representation from people of British and Scandinavian origins.

In 1910, the Canadian Northern Railway reached Shellbrook from Prince Albert and the community developed as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural region.

The community is situated near the northern edge of agricultural settlement in the transition zone between the aspen parkland and boreal forest biomes and as the early settlers arrived the land had to be cleared of the jack pine forests before crops could be planted.

The trees, however, provided an early cash crop and logs were rafted into Prince Albert where many were converted into railway ties.