Geist Reservoir

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The Geist Reservoir was constructed in 1943 to provide water for nearby Indianapolis, Indiana. Upon completion, Geist Reservoir was the second largest lake in Indiana providing over 7 billion gallons of water.

The Geist area is noteworthy for its wealthy and famous residents, especially the reservoir's shoreline inhabitants who include renowned professional sports figures, politicians, local media personalities, and business people. Geist Reservoir was named after Clarence Geist, a former owner of the Indianapolis Water Company who foresaw a deficit in Indianapolis's water supply, and envisioned "Geist Reservoir" to preemptively address the problem - but not without a casualty.

A small town called Germantown was laying at what is now the bottom of Geist Reservoir. Several villagers had to move and buildings were destroyed prior to the completion of the dam.

In recent years the Geist area has experienced rapid growth. The area is noted for its unique topography and the reservoir, which is lined by million dollar + homes. The area is also noted for its prestigious golf country clubs.

Geist Reservoir spans three counties in Indiana (Marion, Hamilton, and Hancock), four voting precincts, four school districts (Lawrence North, Lawrence Central, Hamilton Southeastern, and Mt. Vernon) and features four different zip codes (46038, 46256, 46236, 46040). This diversity is brought together through a local community website called atGeist.com which also published a monthly community newsletter.

It is ironic in its own way (name-wise), that "geist" is also German for "ghost."