Bargersville

Bargersville is located in White River and Union Townships in western Johnson County, 20 miles south of Indianapolis. The town was established in 1906 after the extension of the Indianapolis Southern Railway located a train station in the area, near the already existing town of Old Bargersville.

This earlier town had been platted on February 7, 1850, and named after Jefferson Barger the town’s first resident. The first plank roads, built in the 1850s, linked the county seat in Franklin to Bargersville. Bargersville remained an unincorporated community straddling Union and White River Townships until its incorporation as a 1.1 square mile town in 1880.

In 1906 the Indianapolis Southern Railway completed a section of track approximately 0.5 miles west of Bargersville. The extension of the track and the construction of a train station called the Bargersville stop shifted the commercial activity from Bargersville to the area around the train station. A grain elevator, retail store, grocery store, lumber yard, and bank near the station spurred the establishment of a new community and contributed to the decline of the existing town. The new community adopted the name Bargersville and the former town became known as Old Bargersville as it was enveloped into the 2.2-square-mile fold of the new railroad community.

Bargersville remained a rural enclave throughout the 20^th century. By 1970, the town still counted fewer than 900 residents. However, large land annexations between 2009 and 2011 expanded Bargersville from 2.2 square miles to 18.77 square miles increasing its population significantly. Bargersville’s population jumped by 72 percent between 2009 and 2010. In 2011, the town had 6,035 residents, and by 2020 this increased to 9,560.

The town is served by two school districts, Center Grove Community Schools and Franklin Community Schools. Bargersville’s expanded boundaries have facilitated residential and commercial development, which has required infrastructure improvements in the form of widened roads as well as the construction of a new elementary school, Walnut Grove Elementary School which has a capacity for 550 students.

The Bargersville Main Street Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the enhancement and revitalization of downtown Bargersville for local businesses, residents, and visitors. Taxman Brewery’s flagship location is located here. Multiple strip malls dot SR 135, Bargersville’s main north-south artery. The completion of I-69 in 2024 is expected to increase the potential for the development of hotels, retail stores, and restaurants in the western portion of town.

The Town of Bargersville has a five-member elected town council. A president, vice president, and three council members serve the community for three-year terms. A slate of boards and commissions, appointed by the council, provides the citizens of Bargersville the opportunity to have a voice in local government.