About Our Town
About Zionsville
Since its founding, Zionsville has grown to become one of the most desirable places to live in the United States. This is due to the small-town character it maintains, highlighted by development along the Brick Street and a high quality of living. Throughout the years, Zionsville has maintained an intriguing blend of modern and rustic, with lots of new shops and stores set up in historic buildings.
Located a mere 20 minutes north from the major metropolitan amenities of Indianapolis, today Zionsville enjoys one of the most enviable lifestyles of any town in Indiana. A visit to Zionsville includes shopping at one-of-a-kind boutiques and stores, visiting a variety of art galleries of nationally known artists and dining choices to fit every taste and every budget at one of our locally-owned restaurants.
Zionsville has utilized a mayor-council government since 2015. The current mayor, Emily Styron, was elected in 2019.
Zionsville History
(from SullivanMunce Cultural Center)
Zionsville is named for William Zion, a Lebanon, Indiana businessman who never lived in or owned property in Zionsville (Lyons, Remembering Zionsville, 11).
Zion was a member of the board of directors of The Lafayette and Indianapolis Railroad (later called the Big Four). He founded Hazelrigg Station around 1851 but felt that the railroad needed another station between newly-founded Whitestown and the Boone-Marion county line. Zion hoped that the new station might be located midway between Lebanon and Indianapolis (Birth Certificates 21). The large property of Elijah and Mary Cross was in the ideal location.
Mary Hoover Cross (known as “Polly”) was the daughter of one of Eagle Township’s first settlers, David Hoover. Hoover acquired his Boone County, IN property on January 27, 1824 and erected a cabin that quickly became a center of Eagle Township life (Birth Certificates 21). The first official election in the county was held in the house (History of Boone County,1984, 89; Crist, History of Boone County, 1914, 108) and the first session of the Boone Probate Court was held in the home on November 4, 1830 (History of Boone County, 1984, 7; Crist, History of Boone County, 1914, 108). Hoover was the first clerk of the Boone County Circuit Court (History of Boone County, 1984, 7). He issued the first marriage license in Boone County from his office on January 13, 1831 for the marriage of his own daughter, Mary “Polly” Hoover, to Elijah Cross (Birth Certificates 21; History of Boone County 89). When David Hoover died on December 29, 1835, he left Polly and her husband the 80-acre homestead (Birth Certificates, 21).
By the time William Zion approached the Cross family about establishing a new town, they had added even more acreage to the 80 acres that they had acquired in the 1830s (Birth Certificates 21). William Zion was an enthusiastic supporter of the railroad and convinced Elijah Cross that a town should be founded on his family’s land. Zion and Cross partnered on the venture and worked out a rough plan for the town. The rough plan became formal after Boone County surveyor James Mullikin surveyed the site and completed the original plat. Mullikin’s layout was dated November 5, 1851 and was officially filed with the Boone County recorder’s office on January 26, 1852.
Elijah Cross had the honor of selecting a name for the new town. His first choice was “Marysville” in honor of his wife. Mary “Polly” Cross did not care for the idea and Elijah settled on “Zion’s Village” to recognize William Zion. After some thought, however, Cross amended the name to “Zionsville” (Birth Certificates 22).
School System
Zionsville residents take great pride in our continually award-winning Zionsville Community School System. The combination of teachers, parents and the support of the entire community have kept our school system recognized as one of the very best in Indiana.- Four Star School designation by Indiana Department of Education
- National Blue Ribbon School award in 2004 (Zionsville Community High School), 2016 (Union Elementary), 2017 (Pleasant View Elementary) and 2020 (Boone Meadow)
- Number of Schools: 8 (new elementary school opening in August 2022)
- ZCHS has one of the highest GQE scores in the state
Parks
With more than 500 acres of parkland and 20+ parks, Zionsville has more parkland per capita than nearly any other town its size in Indiana. Zionsville’s public parks include playgrounds, a splash park, skateboard park, sledding hill, sports fields, picnic areas, nature trails and a golf course. Zionsville Nature Center is an environmental education facility located in Zionsville.
The town has two privately maintained recreation facilities: Lions Park, located immediately adjacent to the village center, hosts many annual festivals and the Azionaqua Swim Club, enjoyed by hundreds of local families.
Accolades
For 20 years, the Town of Zionsville has been named by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA community for their commitment to urban forestry. The Town of Zionsville has met all four standards to become a Tree City USA community. Tree City USA communities must have a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, a community forestry program with annual expenditures of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.| Zionsville By The Numbers |
2020 Census (*Other Census figures noted) |
|---|---|
| Land area in square miles | 67.22 |
| Population estimate |
31,702 |
| County population estimate |
73,052 |
| Population younger than 5 years | 5.9% |
| Population younger than 18 years |
28% |
| Population 65 years and older | 12.9% |
| Median value of owner-occupied housing units (2016-2020) | $406,800 |
| Median gross rent (2016-2020) | $1,408 |
| Median household income (in 2020 dollars) |
$137,265 (2016-2020) |
| Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2020 dollars) |
$66,898 (2016-2020) |
| Education - bachelor's degree or higher |
71.9% |
| Education - high school graduate or higher |
98.3% |
| Race - White alone | 91.4% |