A town that cares about its pavement
In 1910 the Zionsville town board approved paving Main Street with bricks along the interurban tracks, and the brick roadway was finished by 1911. When it wore out, residents formed a "Save the Bricks" committee in 1969, laid a 75-foot test section in 1974, bought 37,000 bricks in 1980, and placed the last brick of the big rebuild on December 18, 1998. In March 2025 the Village earned an Indiana Main Street designation.
That history shows up in the yards. In and around the Village, a stamped brick or cobble border on a walk or patio, or a colored, stamped porch floor, fits the neighborhood better than a plain gray slab.
From the Village to the newer subdivisions
Zionsville was laid out in 1852 when the railroad came through, named for settler William Zion, and incorporated in 1866. In 2010 it annexed 39.5 square miles of Eagle and Union townships, which is why so much of today's town is newer: the median home was built in 1999, with about 44 percent built in the 2000s and 2010s. There's still a real share of older homes, too, with about 11 percent from the 1970s.
Permits: Zionsville is simpler on driveways
- Repairing or replacing a driveway on your own lot doesn't need a permit in Zionsville.
- If the work moves the driveway, or touches the street, a sidewalk, an alley or the right-of-way, it needs a Right of Way Permit from the town's Public Works department.
- A new driveway onto a Boone County road or a state highway needs a separate permit from the Boone County Highway Department or INDOT.
Building permits in Zionsville go through the town's Improvement Location Permit process.
Boone County ground
Boone County's soils differ a little from Hamilton County's. The federal soil survey maps mostly Crosby, Treaty, Miami and Fincastle soils; Treaty is poorly drained, and Crosby and Fincastle are somewhat poorly drained. On that kind of ground, a retaining wall needs drainage stone and a pipe behind it, and a patio needs a compacted base and slope that carries water away from the house. Indiana's code sets Boone County's frost depth at 30 inches, the same as its neighbors.
Fire pits: Zionsville's rules are the strictest nearby
The town lists fire rings and fire pits under its open-burning rules. Fires must be at least 100 feet from a structure or power line and 300 feet from a frequently traveled road, burn only clean wood and paper in a vented, noncombustible container with a fine mesh cover, and be out before sunset. Fines run from $20 to $2,500. On a typical subdivision lot, 100 feet from the house is hard to find, which makes a gas fire feature worth a look. Compare every town on our fire pit rules page.