Brightwood
Ghost town · Marion County, Indiana

Brightwood is a ghost town in Marion County, Indiana. It is one of 9 former communities in Marion County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 3rd among the 33 Indiana counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Brightwood as a historical populated place on the Indianapolis East topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.8037° N, 86.1097° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Indianapolis East |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 778 ft |
| Nearest living town | Indianapolis city, IN |
| Distance to it | 2.7 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 452202 |
| Coordinates | 39.80365, -86.10971 |
What's there now
Brightwood is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Indianapolis city, IN (population 882,043), about 2.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 778 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Clifford Parkghost town · Marion County · 1.5 mi
- Northwoodghost town · Marion County · 2 mi
- East Brightwoodghost town · Marion County · 2.3 mi
- Harrison Placeghost town · Marion County · 2.6 mi
- Mallot Parkghost town · Marion County · 3.4 mi
- Irvingtonghost town · Marion County · 3.7 mi
- Robinsonghost town · Marion County · 4.9 mi
- Hamiltonghost town · Boone County · 14.1 mi
- Pleasant Viewghost town · Hamilton County · 15.5 mi
- Potter's Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Hamilton County · 19.5 mi
- Anitaghost town · Johnson County · 26.5 mi
- Arlington South Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Rush County · 30.6 mi
Questions
Where is Brightwood?
Brightwood is in Marion County, Indiana, at 39.8037, -86.1097.
How many ghost towns are in Marion County?
Marion County, Indiana has 9 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.