Vandalia is a city in Fayette County, Illinois, 69 miles (111 km) northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. In 1900, 2,665 people lived in Vandalia; in 1910, 2,974; and in 1940, 5,288. The population was 6,975 at the 2000 Census. It is the county seat of Fayette County, the home of the Vandalia State House State Historic Site (1836), and was a terminus of the National Road. In 1819, it was decided to move the state capital from Kaskaskia to Vandalia. Since 1839, Springfield has been the capital.

History

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. Vandalia was the proposed name of a fourteenth British colony in North America to be founded in southern Ohio, and current day West Virginia. In Mary Burtschi's book, Vandalia: Wilderness Capital of Lincoln's Land, she 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. This was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word dale which means a valley between hills. Greenup takes credit in the conversation for being the one to connect the two terms to form the name Vandalia. This theory does hold water since Greenup was one of the surveyors and the terms describe the capital city.

Another possible source of the name is the Vandalia colony, a failed colonial-era attempt to establish a colony in part of what is now West Virginia and Ohio. The Vandalia colony was named in honor of Queen Charlotte, who claimed descent from the Germanic tribe, the Vandals.

Another theory put forth is that Vandalia was named by those who located the state capitol in the town; according to the story, they mistakenly thought the Vandals were a brave Native American tribe, rather than of Germanic origins. Allan H. Keith, . Consulted on August 15, 2007.
On November 21, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed through Vandalia on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. After that trip, the Liberty Bell returned to Pennsylvania and will not be moved again.

Education

In addition to its public schools, Vandalia has a private Christian school, Vandalia Christian Academy.
Vandalia is home to the Okaw Valley Area Vocational Center, which trains high school students in vocational trades and also attracts 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 re-sells it, and they have sold 33 homes this way.

Geography

Vandalia is located at (39.568077, -89.101995).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.7 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.35%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,975 people, 2,344 households, and 1,425 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,231.3 people per square mile (475.8/km²). There were 2,543 housing units at an average density of 448.9/sq mi (173.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.57% White, 15.01% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.

There were 2,344 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population 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 age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 134.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 144.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,857, and the median income for a family was $39,762. Males had a median income of $27,342 versus $19,109 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,918. About 8.9% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.