Vandalia, Illinois Downtown Vandalia IL 1.jpg Motto: "Oldest Existing Illinois Capital City" Location of Vandalia inside Illinois Location of Vandalia inside Illinois Wikimedia Commons: Vandalia, Illinois Vandalia is a town/city in Fayette County, Illinois, United States, 69 miles (111 km) northeast of St.
It served as the state capital of Illinois from 1819 until 1839, when the seat of state government moved to Springfield (which remains the capital today).
Vandalia was for years the end of the National Road.
Today, Vandalia is the governmental center of county of Fayette County and the home of the Vandalia State House State Historic Site (1836).
Madonna of the Trail statue in front of the Vandalia State House.
Vandalia was established in 1819 as a new capital town/city for Illinois. The previous capital, Kaskaskia, was unsuitable because it was under the constant threat of flooding.
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 initial surveyors of the town and a Vandalia resident.
Greenup takes credit in the conversation for connecting the two terms to form the name Vandalia.
Another possible origin of the name is the Vandalia colony, a floundered attempt to establish a fourteenth colony in part of what is now West Virginia and Ohio.
The Vandalia colony was titled in honor of Queen Charlotte, who claimed descent from the Wendish tribe of Obodrites, also called the Vandals.
Another theory put forth is that Vandalia was titled by those who positioned the state capital in the town; as stated to the story, they mistakenly thought the Vandals were a brave Native American tribe, clean water of Germanic origins. The law under which Vandalia was established included a provision that the capital would not be moved for twenty years. Even before the end of this period, the populace 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 passed through Vandalia on its nationwide tour, while being returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. In the early 1960s the sociologist Joseph Lyford examined the civil 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.
In 1900, 2,665 citizens lived in Vandalia; in 1910, 2,974; and in 1940, 5,288.
The building trades class at the center each year purchases property in Vandalia, builds a home, and sells the improved property.
Vandalia is positioned at 38 58 5 N 89 6 7 W (38.568077, -89.101995). According to the 2010 census, Vandalia has a total region of 8.116 square miles (21.02 km2), of which 8.1 square miles (20.98 km2) (or 99.8%) is territory and 0.016 square miles (0.04 km2) (or 0.2%) is water. Vandalia is situated on Interstate 70, U.S.
In the city, the populace was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median income for a homehold in the town/city was $30,857, and the median income for a family was $39,762.
Vandalia is governed using the mayor council system.
In Jules Verne's An Antarctic Mystery (1897), Dirk Peters, AKA Hunt, lived for many years in Vandalia before resuming his quest for his companion Arthur Gordon Pym.
City of Vandalia was a case decided by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on the copy of res judicata.
The case originally involved a parking dispute in Vandalia but became a pivotal case in civil procedure. a b "Vandalia, Illinois History".
Vandalia, Illinois.
City of Vandalia.
"The view from Vandalia: A half century on, a much-studied small town/city has lessons to teach".
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
City of Vandalia - Article about Vandalia in The Economist Municipalities and communities of Fayette County, Illinois, United States County seat: Vandalia Elmo Vandalia Avena Bear Grove Bowling Green Carson Kaskaskia La - Clede Lone Grove Loudon North Hurricane Otego Pope Ramsey Sefton Seminary Shafter Sharon South Hurricane Vandalia Wheatland Wilberton
Categories:
Cities in Illinois - Cities in Fayette County, Illinois - Former state capitals in the United States - County seats in Illinois - Populated places established in 1819 - 1819 establishments in Illinois
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