Vandalia is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Fayette County, Illinois Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,488. Its county seat is Vandalia, the site of the Vandalia State House State Historic Site. Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area is ...

, United States. At the 2020 Census, the population was 7,458. The city is on the

Kaskaskia River The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the U ...

and in the early 19th century, Vandalia became the western terminus of the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

(the first federal road) from the East Coast. The city is northeast of the

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core city—St. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, ...

area. Vandalia served as the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

of Illinois from 1819 until 1839, when the seat of state government moved closer to the center of the state in Springfield. Since 1933, the

Vandalia State House State Historic Site The Vandalia State House, built in 1836, is the fourth capitol building of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is also the oldest capitol building in Illinois to survive, as the first, second, and third capitol buildings have all disappeared. The bric ...

preserves and interprets the State House capital building and grounds, originally constructed in 1836.

History

Vandalia was founded in 1819 as a new capital city for Illinois. The previous capital,

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

, was unsuitable because it was under the constant threat of flooding. The townsite, located in Bond County at the time, was hastily prepared for the 1820 meeting of the Illinois General Assembly. In 1821, Fayette County was created, including Vandalia. The history of the name Vandalia is uncertain. Different theories can be found in almost all of the books written about Vandalia over the years. In her book ''Vandalia: Wilderness Capital of Lincoln's Land'', Mary Burtschi tells of a conversation between one of the original surveyors of the town and a Vandalia resident. The surveyor, Colonel Greenup, explained that ''Van'' was suggested by one of the men. He recommended this as an abbreviation to the word ''vanguard'' meaning the forefront of an advancing movement. Another suggestion was made for the term ''dalia'', derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ''dale'' which means a valley between hills. Greenup takes credit in the conversation for connecting the two terms to form the name ''Vandalia''. Another possible source of the name is the

Vandalia colony Vandalia was the name in the late 1700s of a proposed British colony in North America. The colony would have been located south of the Ohio River, primarily in what are now West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky. Vandalia was never approved b ...

, a failed attempt to establish a fourteenth colony in part of what is now West Virginia and Kentucky. The Vandalia colony was named in honor of

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

, who claimed descent from the Wendish tribe of

Obodrites The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavs, West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian S ...

, also called the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

. Another theory put forth is that Vandalia was named by those who located the state capital in the town; according to the story, they mistakenly thought the

were a brave Native American tribe, rather than of Germanic origins.Allan H. Keith
''Historical Stories: About Greenville and Bond County, IL''
. Consulted on August 15, 2007. The law under which Vandalia was founded included a provision that the capital would not be moved for twenty years. Even before the end of this period, the population center of the state had shifted far north of Vandalia. In 1837, the General Assembly voted to move the capital to Springfield. On November 21, 1915, the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

passed through Vandalia on its nationwide tour, while being returned to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. In the early 1960s the sociologist Joseph Lyford examined the social structure of Vandalia in a book-length study that revealed the essentially corporatist nature of decision-making in the city; this work was recently revisited by the Economist newspaper.

Education

The city has a Board of Education. Among the public schools in the city are Jefferson Elementary School and former Central School, which was condemned in 1980. The city's first high school was established in 1858. Vandalia is home to the Okaw Valley Area Vocational Center, which trains high school students in vocational trades. It also serves vocational students from nearby high schools such as those in Greenville and Mulberry Grove. The building trades class at the center each year purchases property in Vandalia, builds a house, and sells the improved property. They have sold 33 homes constructed by students.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Vandalia has a total area of , of which (or 99.8%) is land and (or 0.2%) is water. Vandalia is situated on

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

(the National Road) and

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 7,458 people, 2,253 households, and 1,247 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,629 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.70%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 10.24%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.86% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.98% from other races, and 2.74% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.91% of the population. There were 2,253 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.21% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.65% were non-families. 39.28% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 2.25. The city's age distribution consisted of 16.2% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 144.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 148.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,862, and the median income for a family was $48,454. Males had a median income of $28,600 versus $23,833 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,994. About 16.8% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Vandalia is governed using the mayor council system. The council consists of eight members elected from one of four wards with each ward electing two members. The mayor along with the city clerk and treasurer are elected in a citywide vote.

Notable people

* Alfred Elisha Ames, politician and physician * Josie Barnes, professional bowler; winner of the 2021

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open is one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, ...

and 2025

USBC Queens The USBC Queens is an annual ten-pin bowling event for amateur and professional female bowlers, sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress. The event is one of four women's professional majors since the PWBA tour returned in 2015 and the femal ...

* Henry P. H. Bromwell, U.S. Representative from Illinois * John J. Bullington, Illinois politician * Levi Davis, Illinois Auditor and lawyer *

H. Joel Deckard Huey Joel Deckard (March 7, 1942 – September 6, 2016) was an American businessman and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1979 to 1983. Early life and career Born in Vandalia, Illinois, Deckard attend ...

, U.S. Representative from Indiana *

William Lee D. Ewing William Lee Davidson Ewing (August 31, 1795 – March 25, 1846) was a politician from Illinois who served partial terms as the List of Governors of Illinois, fifth governor of the state and as United States Senate, U.S. Senator. Biography ...

, U.S. Senator and fifth

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

* William M. Farmer, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court *

Ferris Foreman Ferris Foreman (August 24, 1808 – February 11, 1901) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He fought in the Mexican–American War, and was a colonel commanding a volunteer regiment and the District of Southern California during the ...

, politician and Army colonel *

John W. Heavey John W. Heavey (February 19, 1867 – November 18, 1941) was a United States Army brigadier general who served as Chief of the National Guard Bureau. Early life John William Heavey was born in Vandalia, Illinois on February 19, 1867, and gradua ...

, U.S. Army brigadier general, chief of the National Guard Bureau * Miles E. Mills, Illinois politician and educator * Frederick Remann, Illinois politician *

June Squibb June Louise Squibb (born November 6, 1929) is an American actress. She began her career by making her Broadway (theatre), Broadway debut in the musical ''Gypsy (musical), Gypsy'' (1959). Her film debut was in Woody Allen's romantic comedy ''Alice ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated actress

In fiction and popular culture

*The case of ''Frier v. City of Vandalia'' was a case decided by the

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Ill ...

on the issue of

res judicata ''Res judicata'' or ''res iudicata'', also known as claim preclusion, is the Latin term for ''judged matter'', and refers to either of two concepts in common law civil procedure: a case in which there has been a final judgment and that is no lon ...

. The case originally involved a parking dispute in Vandalia but became a pivotal case in

civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or ca ...

. *Four US Navy ships have been named for Vandalia.

References

External links

City of Vandalia
{{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Fayette County, Illinois

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1819 1819 establishments in Illinois