Merrillville (/ˈmɛrəlvɪl/ MAIR-əl-vil, locally /ˈmɛərvɪl/) is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States.

Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area.

The town serves as a major shopping hub for Northwest Indiana.

Merrillville's asymmetric shape results in numerous boundaries with other municipalities.

It is bordered by Gary and unincorporated Calumet Township, Lake County, to the north; Hobart to the northeast; Union Township, Porter County, to the east; Winfield and Crown Point to the south; Schererville to the west; and Griffith to the northwest.

In 1834, a clearing was created for ceremonial purposes and called McGwinn Village.

In 1848, all of these settlements, including Merrillville (that is, the old McGwinn Village) were collected into one and called Ross Township.

As time went by, bits and pieces of Ross Township were taken by Hobart and Crown Point when those towns incorporated.

[5] During this time, the majority of the town's growth was due to white flight from Gary.

[8] In 2009, a pedestrian bridge at Hidden Lake Park collapsed, injuring at least 25 people[9][10] The catastrophe occurred around 10 PM after the annual Fourth of July fireworks display,[11] when several dozen people attempted to cross the wood suspension bridge.

[12] Police officers stationed at either side of the bridge were unable to stop the advancing parkgoers, and with numerous people jumping up and down the 30-year-old bridge collapsed, sending somewhere around 50 people into the waters of Hidden Lake.

The Morgan-Skinner-Boyd Homestead and John Wood Old Mill are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Heavy industry such as steelmaking and petroleum refining, which characterizes the economy of northern Lake County, does not have a significant presence in Merrillville.

The town is home to the corporate headquarters of Fortune 500 energy company NiSource, hospitality management firm White Lodging, and Centier Bank, Indiana's largest privately owned independent bank.

The closest South Shore Line station is in downtown Gary and can be reached using the Broadway Metro Express or Barons Bus schedule 0025.

[citation needed] Public education in the town is provided by the Merrillville Community School Corporation.

Andrean High School, a Roman Catholic institution operated by the Diocese of Gary, is also in Merrillville.