2024/09/07-1 Indiana: Driving from Indianapolis to Carmel - Beautiful Carmel

Carmel is a suburban city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 99,757 as of the 2020 census, the city spans 49 square miles (130 km2) across Clay Township and is bordered by the White River to the east and the Boone County line to the west. Carmel was home to one of the first electronic automated traffic signals in the country, and has now constructed 141 roundabouts between 1988 and 2022. Carmel was originally called "Bethlehem". It was platted and recorded in 1837 by Daniel Warren, Alexander Mills, John Phelps, and Seth Green. The original settlers were predominantly Quakers. The plot first established in Bethlehem, located at the intersection of Rangeline Road and Main Street, was marked by a clock tower donated by the local Rotary Club starting in 2002. A post office was established as "Carmel" in 1846 because Indiana already had a post office called Bethlehem. The town of Bethlehem was renamed "Carmel" in 1874, due to the need of a post office, at which time it was incorporated. In 1924, one of the first automatic traffic signals in the U.S. was installed at the intersection of Main Street and Rangeline Road. The signal was the invention of Leslie Haines and is currently in the old train station on the Monon Trail. The Carmel Monon Depot, John Kinzer House, and Thornhurst Addition are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.