Castleton is a heavily commercialized neighborhood surrounding the original southern terminus of Interstate 69 on the northeast side of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is located in Lawrence and Washington townships of Marion County. Castleton Square Mall, the largest mall in Indiana, is located here. Banks, fast-food restaurants, fine dining, shopping, hospitals and related health-care businesses, as well as three and four star hotels are examples of some of the commercial establishments in this area. In addition to retail, large office parks line both sides of Interstate 69 and adjacent portions of I-465. Castleton is located relatively close to Lawrence and Keystone at the Crossing. Originally a stop on the Nickel Plate railroad, Castleton was founded as a small village in Marion County in 1843, when the Rev. James T. Wright bought the land on which the heart of Castleton now stands. Wright organized what is now the Castleton United Methodist Church. The town was the last to be plotted in Lawrence township in 1852. However, because of the Nickel Plate railroad stop, the town gained in population through the remainder of the 19th century. In the latter part of the 20th century, especially after construction of I-465, Castleton grew very rapidly. Despite being primarily suburban in nature, Castleton is characterized mainly by its commercial developments. However, in addition to retail, the neighborhood also has a large, mostly middle class, residential community with many subdivisions and apartment complexes, many of which were built in the 1980s and 1990s. Castleton is home to Lawrence North High School, Community Hospital North and Community Heart and Vascular Hospital. William Sahm Park and golf course are located just to the north of the Castleton Square mall, off of 91st Street. Castleton is adjacent to the Geist and Clearwater areas. The Castleton area also includes a now totally commercialized neighborhood around the intersection of 82nd Street and Allisonville Road once known as Allisonville from which the latter street originally derived its name. In 1970, Castleton became a so-called included town under the consolidated city-county government in Indianapolis called Unigov. However, the meaning of this included town status was somewhat uncertain, as under state lawIndiana Code 36-3-1-4 sec. 4), included towns are legally part of the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and are fully subject to the laws and control of the government of Indianapolis. In 1992, Castleton officially dissolved and reverted to the City of Indianapolis. The ZIP codes which serve Castleton are 46250 and 46256. They are both serviced by the large, full-service USPS branch office located at 8710 Bash Street in Castleton.
