A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
CARMEL, INDIANA

In 1822 pioneer families moved into the area.

In 1823 Hamilton County was established, and in 1832 the first settlement was in Home Place.

In 1833 the first community school and in 1835 the first community store were established.

On April 13, 1837, John Felps (Phelps), Alexander Mills, Seth Green, and Daniel Warren, laid out the Town of Bethlehem. The plat contained a total of fourteen lots. The area, previously inhabited by Delaware (Miami) Indians, soon became inhabited by Quakers.

As a wilderness it was known for its fur trading. The first General Store was constructed in 1837. In 1845, a framed school house building was constructed near the Town's crossroads. In 1846, a Post Office was established. At this time, the town residents were notified that the United States Post Office already had another Indiana town registered by the name of Bethlehem. Consequently, in 1874, by a referendum vote of 33 in favor and 12 against, the town was officially incorporated and adopted the name “Carmel”, population 250.

In 1874, Carmel was incorporated as a Town.

In 1882, rails of the Monon Railroad were laid through Carmel, and a depot was opened. The railroad depot remained open until 1974. The Carmel-Clay Historical Society was in charge of the restoration of the original depot.

The first Carmel high school was built in 1887.

In 1889 "The Carmel Signal" was the first town newspaper.

A shoot-out in 1890 at the Jeffries Livery Barn took the life of Officer William Frank Carey. Officer Carey is the only law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.

The Citizens State Bank opened in 1901 on the northwest corner of Main Street and Range Line Road.

In 1903 the interurban railway connected Carmel to Indianapolis and electricity was installed throughout Carmel in 1904.

In 1914 the first Carmel Public Library was dedicated. It was built with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation for a total of $11,000.00. It was used until 1972 when it was purchased by the Town of Carmel for use as city offices and later as a Courthouse. A state of the art facility was opened in 1999.

The Carmel Volunteer Fire Department purchased its first fire truck in 1921.

In 1923 Leslie Haines invented one of the country's first automatic stop-and-go traffic signals. It was located at the intersection of Main Street and Range Line Road.

In 1930 a water system was installed, and in 1933 a gas pipeline was installed.

In 1937 a Centennial Celebration took place in Carmel (population 632).

In 1949 the Carmel Theatre opened. Ticket prices were 40 cents for adults and 20 cents for children. Candy bars were sold for a nickel each. The theatre was closed and razed by the City in 1984. In 1985, the “Downtown Park” was dedicated on the original site of the Carmel Theatre.

In 1958 a new high school was built on East Main Street, for a total cost of $1,600,000.00. Additions to the high school were added in 1963, 1969, 1977 and 1998. In 2006 the Freshman Center was added to the high school complex. The Carmel Elementary School was opened in 1961 and in 1964 the Carmel Junior High School was opened.

In 1962 Carmel celebrated its 125th Anniversary.

In 1965 Keystone Avenue (Route 431) was opened. That same year the areas of Woodland Springs, Cool Creek, and Keystone Square were annexed to Carmel which doubled the population.

The Carmel Court was established in 1971. The Plan Commission was also expanded to include fourteen members from Clay Township and seven members from the City of Carmel.

In November of 1974, a referendum took place as to whether Carmel should become a Fourth Class City. The residents voted in the affirmative.

In 1975 the first City primary election was held and in 1976 Carmel became a city (population 13,500).

In December 1976, the Carmel Symphony Orchestra presented its first concert.

The Science and Technology Park opened at Meridian and 116th Streets in 1985. That same year, St. Vincent Carmel Hospital opened on North Meridian.

In 1986, the ground breaking took place for the Carmel Civic Square with city offices being relocated soon thereafter.

April 13, 1987 marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of Carmel.

The following is an illustration of the continuous growth in the City of Carmel.

Year	Number of People
1925	385
1930	682
1940	771
1950	1,009
1960	1,442
1970	6,568
1976	15,181
1980	18,272
1984	20,189
1990	25,199
1998 (special census)	39,856
2000	37,735
2004 (geographic update)	50,948
2007 (special census)	68,677

 

Since becoming classified as a City under the State laws of Indiana, the following public servants have served as officials of the City of Carmel:

 

Mayors
Albert Pickett	1976 - 1980
Jane A. Reiman	1980 - 1988
Dorothy J. Hancock	1988 - 1992
Ted Johnson	1992 - 1996
James Brainard	1996 - 2016

 

 

Clerk-Treasurers
Peggy Lou Smith	1976 - 1980
Dorothy Hancock	1980 - 1984
Dorothy Hancock	1984 - 1988
Susan Jones	1988 - 1992
Susan Jones	1992 - 1996
Diana Cordray	1996 - 2016

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Dave Coots	1976 - 1980	Fred Swift - President 1976
Walter Dean	1976 - 1977*	Jim Garretson - President 1977
Minnie Doane	1976 - 1980	Jane Reiman - President 1978
James Garretson	1976 - 1980	Dave Coots - President 1979
Robert Horvath	1977 - 1980*
Stanley Meacham	1976 - 1980
Jane Reiman	1976 - 1980
Fred Swift	1976 - 1980

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Frank Fleming	1980 - 1984	Jim Garretson - President 1980
James Garretson	1980 - 1984	Ted Johnson - President 1981
Ted Johnson	1980 - 1984	Billy Walker - President 1982
Virginia Kerr	1980 - 1984	Sue McMullen - President 1983
Sue McMullen	1980 - 1984
David Shepherd	1980 - 1984
Billy Walker	1980 - 1984

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Robert Badger	1984 - 1988	Ted Johnson - President 1984
Minnie Doane	1984 - 1988	Jim Garretson - President 1985
Frank Fleming	1984 - 1988	Frank Fleming - President 1986
James Garretson	1984 - 1988	Ted Johnson - President 1987
Ted Johnson	1984 - 1988
Sue McMullen	1984 - 1988
Jim Miller	1985 - 1988*
Richard Solara	1984 - 1985*

 

City Council		Council Presidents
David Adams	1988 - 1992	Jim Miller - President 1988
Minnie Doane	1988 - 1992	Lee Lonzo - President 1989
Tom Irvin	1988 - 1992	Alan Potasnik - President 1990
Ted Johnson	1988 - 1989*	David Adams - President 1991
Lee Lonzo	1988 - 1992
Jim Miller	1988 - 1992
Annabelle Ogle	1989 - 1992*
Alan Potasnik	1988 - 1992

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Frank Fleming	1992 - 1996	Chris Painchaud - President 1992
Tom Kendall	1992 - 1996	Tom Kendall - President 1993
Chris Painchaud	1992 - 1996	Luci Snyder - President 1994
Alan Potasnik	1992 - 1996	Jim Quinn - President 1995
Jim Quinn	1992 - 1996
Luci Snyder	1992 - 1996
Tim Story	1992 - 1996

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Bob Battreall	1996 - 2000	Jim Miller - President 1996
Ron Carter	1996 - 2000	Jim Miller - President 1997
Kevin Kirby	1996 - 2000	Bob Battreall - President 1998
John Koven	1999 - 2000*	Luci Snyder - President 1999
Jim Miller	1996 - 1999*
Norman Rundle	1996 - 2000
Luci Snyder	1996 - 2000
Billy Walker	1996 - 2000

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Bob Battreall	2000 - 2004	Norm Rundle - President 2000
Ron Carter	2000 - 2004	Kevin Kirby - President 2001
Kevin Kirby	2000 - 2004	Wayne Wilson - President 2002
John Koven	2000 - 2004	Luci Snyder - President 2003
Norman Rundle	2000 - 2004
Luci Snyder	2000 - 2004
Wayne Wilson	2000 - 2004

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Ron Carter	2004 - 2008	Ron Carter - President 2004
Fred Glaser	2004 - 2008	Kevin Kirby - President 2005
Joe Griffiths	2004 - 2008	Rick Sharp - President 2006
Kevin Kirby	2004 - 2008	Joe Griffiths - President 2007
Brian Mayo	2004 - 2007*
Mark Ratterman	2004 - 2008
Eric Seidensticker	2007 - 2008*
Rick Sharp	2004 - 2008

 

City Council		Council Presidents
John Accetturo	2008 - 2012	Rick Sharp - President 2008
Ron Carter	2008 - 2012	Eric Seidensticker - President 2009
Joe Griffiths	2008 - 2012	Rick Sharp - President 2010
Kevin Rider	2008 - 2012	Eric Seidensticker - President 2011
Eric Seidensticker	2008 - 2012
Rick Sharp	2008 - 2012
Luci Snyder	2008 - 2012

 

City Council		Council Presidents
Ron Carter	2012 - 2016	Rick Sharp - President 2012
Sue Finkham	2012 - 2016	Rick Sharp - President 2013
Kevin Rider	2012 - 2016	Eric Seidensticker - President 2014
Carol Schleif	2012 - 2016	Rick Sharp - President 2015
Eric Seidensticker	2012 - 2016
Rick Sharp	2012 - 2016
Luci Snyder	2012 - 2016