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BHistory
History · Vandalia

Vandalia’s post office opened in 1871, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #94 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Lincoln School. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Vandalia began

When was Vandalia founded?

1871

The Vandalia post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1874.

First census: 501 in 18802020 census: 3,553155 years

How historic is Vandalia?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Vandalia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vandalia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vandalia is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #94 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vandalia’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194024.5% of homes (±6.0) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 3.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 61%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 62%

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Vandalia’s 3.2 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1874 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Vandalia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Vandalia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1917, drew every building in Vandalia.Old housesHalf of Vandalia’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vandalia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Vandalia, building by building, 1895–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Vandalia fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Vandalia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vandalia.

Read it all →

Vandalia was laid off by Aaron McPike and Judge Harmen Caldwell in 1870 and platted in 1871. The city was named after Vandalia, Illinois. Aaron McPike transferred the lumber used to build the first homes from Louisiana, Missouri. A post office called Vandalia has been in operation since 1871.

The Lincoln School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Vandalia, decade by decade

Today18 recent
2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area Fair2016 Vandalia Area Fair20132016 Vandalia Area FairVandalia, Missouri2007Vandalia, Missouri
On the map

Vandalia on the map, 1943 to 1973

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

Vandalia on the 1943 USGS mapVandalia on the 1973 USGS map1943Vandalia 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.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Vandalia

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Lincoln School
Lincoln School
Buildings
Lincoln SchoolBuilding

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

People over time

Vandalia, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,899

Between 501 and 3,899 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Vandalia’s post office has been open since 1871.

Gone or out of use
Lincoln SchoolschoolNorth SchoolschoolSouth Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Vandalia
Vandalia

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Vandalia’s history

What year was Vandalia founded?

The Vandalia post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1874.

How does Vandalia rank for history?

Vandalia is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #94 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Vandalia?

One place: the Lincoln School (listed 1996).

How old are the homes in Vandalia?

25% of Vandalia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1959.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.