Zionsville, Indiana

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Zionsville, Indiana
settlement_type = Town
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption = Looking north along Main Street


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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location of Zionsville in the state of Indiana


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map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Indiana
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Boone
subdivision_type3 = Township
subdivision_name3 = Eagle
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

area_footnotes =
unit_pref = Imperial
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 15.2
area_land_km2 = 15.0
area_water_km2 = 0.2
area_total_sq_mi = 5.9
area_land_sq_mi = 5.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.1

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 8775
population_density_km2 = 584.1
population_density_sq_mi = 1512.9

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 257
elevation_ft = 843
latd = 39 |latm = 57 |lats = 11 |latNS = N
longd = 86 |longm = 16 |longs = 10 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 46077
area_code = 317
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 18-86372GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0446483GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Zionsville is a town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, in Eagle Township. The population was 8,775 at the 2000 census. Nearby communities include Lebanon, Carmel, Whitestown, Westfield, and the suburbs of Indianapolis.

Zionsville is most commonly known as a conservative, affluent suburb of Indianapolis. It promotes itself as a tourist attraction around its village-styled downtown area. This area primarily consists of Main Street, paved entirely in brick which is lined with small stores and restaurants. Businesses are, for the most part, family run. The majority of the town, however, has the look and feel of a typical smaller Indiana municipality.

History

The current town of Zionsville began as a promotion by railway speculator William Zion, who partnered with Boone County landowner Elijah Cross to build a railway station on Cross's land in Eagle Township. The town was chartered in 1852, and the first resident was John Miller, who built and lived in a boarding house. By the 1860 census, the population was counted at 364. In this period, local businesses and houses of worship, specifically the local Methodist and Church of Christ parishes relocated from nearby Eagle Village, which had also been platted on land originally owned by Cross. According to the local Chamber of Commerce Abraham Lincoln made a whistle-stop speech in Zionsville in 1861 when traveling to his inauguration.

For much of the rest of its history, Zionsville has led a quiet existence, relying primarily upon its existence as a stop on passenger rail lines and later as a shopping destination or bedroom community. While white flight and other demographic changes in nearby Indianapolis greatly enlarged Carmel and Fishers, Indiana, especially since the imposition of Unigov in 1970, Zionsville had remained a much smaller locale until growth began to pick up into the mid to late 1990s.

Today, Zionsville is wrestling with the prospect of being a fast-growing community. It had kept strict control on growth since the 1970s, but had since been relaxed. Nevertheless, there is tension between those who would develop the town and residents who opposed the problems attendant upon unlimited urban growth. New developments are arising on the outskirts of town that stretch northwest to Whitestown a mile away. These are not part of Zionsville, proper, but residents still require new facilities. In addition, attempts by developers have been made to secure approval for the construction of multi-story business buildings in the downtown/Main Street tourist area. Likewise, westward expansion from Carmel has begun to "spill over" into Boone County, with attendant controversy.

Geography

Zionsville is located at coor dms|39|57|11|N|86|16|10|W|city (39.953092, -86.269462)GR|1. It is about 17 minutes northwest of Indianapolis.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.2 km²), of which, 5.8 square miles (15.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.19%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 8,775 people, 3,063 households, and 2,407 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,512.9 people per square mile (584.1/km²). There were 3,169 housing units at an average density of 546.4/sq mi (211.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.78% White, 0.33% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.

There were 3,063 households out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.5% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the town the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $81,770, and the median income for a family was $95,359. Males had a median income of $62,334 versus $35,823 for females. The per capita income for the town was $35,049. About 4.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

chools

[http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/ Zionsville Community School Corporation] enjoys a very strong reputation. For the past half decade Zionsville schools have been in the top 5 best schools in the state according to "Indiana Monthly". Zionsville schools have rivalries with neighboring Carmel schools, Lebanon schools, and Pike Township schools in Indianapolis. The superintendent of schools is Scott Robison. The following Zionsville Schools are covered under the Zionsville Community Schools (ZCS) district, which covers a large area that extends beyond Zionsville proper.

High school

* [http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/ZCHS/index.htm Zionsville Community High School] 1000 Mulberry Street, Zionsville, IN 46077
Principal: Chris Willis

Middle schools

* [http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/zms/index.html Zionsville Middle School] 900 N. Ford Road, Zionsville, IN 46077
Principal: Sean Conner
* [http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/zwms/index.htm Zionsville West Middle School] 5565 South 700 East, Whitestown, IN 46075
Principal: Tim East

Currently, Zionsville West Middle School only houses grades 5 through 7 students who live in the western reaches of the ZCS district. The 2007-2008 school year is the first school year that the actual West Middle School building is housing these students. In the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years these students attended school at the Boone Meadows building, which will later become another elementary school.

Elementary schools

* Eagle Elementary School
* Pleasant View Upper Elementary School
* Pleasant View Lower Elementary School
* [http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/zcs/sge/sites/index.html Stonegate Elementary School] , K-4, principal Kristin Cavolick
* Union Elementary School

Cultural Features

hops of Zionsville

Several blocks of Main Street in Zionsville have been intentionally groomed to give off a "village" air, specifically to attract shopping from nearby larger communities. In addition, Main Street has been paved entirely in brick and the street lamps and other features (such as a lower speed limit) are maintained to encourage visitors and residents to spend a good deal of time shopping on foot along the length of the street.

Festivals

One of Zionsville's seasonal attractions, the July Fourth fireworks show hosted by the local Lion's Club, brings in people from across Indiana. Unlike many of the Independence Day celebrations in major cities, the Zionsville fireworks show has no music integrated into the performance, although there are concerts before the display.There is also the Fall Festival which has a parade featuring sports teams, organizations from Zionsville and surrounding communities, and the Middle and High School marching bands. There is also a festival at the Lion's Park with attractions like rides, games, and food. It lasts for one weekend in September.

Camps

Zionsville contains the Goldman Union Camp Institute (or GUCI), a Jewish camp that is part of the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism).

Famous Citizens of Zionsville

* William Zion, Founder of Zionsville and railway speculator (never actually lived in Zionsville)
*John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche NHL defenseman.
*Tom Mastny, Cleveland Indians pitcher.
*Rik Smits, Indiana Pacers NBA center.
*Hunter Smith, NFL punter.
*John Stehr, WTHR anchorman.
*Brad Stevens, Butler basketball coach
*Jack Trudeau, Former NFL quarterback.
*Rob Morris, NFL linebacker
*Ron Artest, Former NBA Indiana Pacer
*Dallas Clark, NFL tight end.

References

External links

* [http://www.zionsville-in.gov/ Official Website of the Town of Zionsville, IN]
* [http://www.zcs.k12.in.us Zionsville Community Schools]
* [http://www.zionsvillestar.com Zionsville Star]
* [http://www.zionsville.com Zionsville.com]
* [http://www.timessentinel.com Zionsville Times Sentinel]
* [http://www.zionsvillefire.com Zionsville Fire Department]
* [http://www.zionsvillepd.com Zionsville Police Department]
* [http://www.zionsville.net Zionsville Downtown Merchants Association]
* [http://www.zionsvillechamber.org/z-history.php History of Zionsville]
* [http://www.honeycombproperties.com/zionsvillehomes.html Zionsville Real Estate]