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History · Vandalia Township

Vandalia Township dates to 1819, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1850.

1819founded
3on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vandalia Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vandalia Township began

When was Vandalia Township founded?

1819

Vandalia Township dates its founding to 1819 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 419 in 18502020 census: 6,364207 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓

What stands out about Vandalia Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1819: 207 years of Vandalia Township.Old housesHalf of Vandalia Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vandalia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vandalia Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHotel Evans, John Matthew Heller (NBY 4…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Vandalia Township, 1819 to 1955

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819
    FoundingVandalia Township is established
  3. 1876In the archiveAtlas of the State of Illinois to which are added various general maps, history, statisti…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1955In the archiveHotel Evans, John Matthew Heller (NBY 487)
The story

How Vandalia Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vandalia Township.

Read it all →

Vandalia was founded in 1819 as a new capital city for Illinois. The previous capital, Kaskaskia, was unsuitable because it was on the south-east border of the new state and under the constant threat of flooding. The more centrally located 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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Vandalia Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Atlas of the State of Illinois to which are added various general maps, history, statistics and illustrations1876Atlas of the State of Illinois to which are added var…Map
1950s1 item
Hotel Evans, John Matthew Heller (NBY 487)1955Hotel Evans, John Matthew Heller (NBY 487)
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
John Cullity Residence in Vandalia2013John Cullity Residence in VandaliaFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, VANDALIA, FAYETTE COUNTY, IL2013FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, VANDALIA, FAYETTE COUNTY, …Downtown Vandalia 12011Downtown Vandalia 1Greetings from Historic Vandalia, Illinois, Capital of the State 1819-1839 - Large Letter Postcard2010Greetings from Historic Vandalia, Illinois, Capital o…Document
On the map

Vandalia Township on the map, 1945 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vandalia Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Vandalia Township on the 1945 USGS mapVandalia Township on the 1974 USGS map1945Vandalia sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vandalia Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hotel Evans, John Matthew Heller (NBY 487)
Retake this viewHotel Evans, John Matthew Heller (NBY 487), 1955

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vandalia Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Vandalia Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Vandalia Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018501900195020007,458

Grew from 419 people in 1850 to 7,458 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vandalia Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bluff CityPinhook
Gone or out of use
Hickory Ridge SchoolschoolRitter SchoolschoolThompson SchoolschoolVandalia Sand and Gravel Pitmine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Vandalia Township
Haley ChapelPinhookRitter

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Kaskaskia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBear Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOtego Township1 historic placeB+Sefton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSharon TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Vandalia Township’s history

What year was Vandalia Township founded?

In 1819, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Vandalia Township’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1850 counted 419 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.