In the 1840s, the village that would later become Shanly was called Moore's Settlement, however the meaning of this name is allegedly lost to time. From the 1800s until the 1970s, County Road 22 ran north from Cardinal and ended at the intersection of County Road 21, continuing north again to the west of this junction; early into settlement, the junction was commonly referred to as simply "the Corner" by locals. By the 1860s the community was renamed to Wallace's Corner, Wallace being the surname of a large local family who were one of the first to settle here in 1827. The village was renamed Shanly in 1885 after Walter Shanly, a prominent local political figure who was responsible for establishing the community's post office.