Vandalia, Illinois

Vandalia
City
Motto:  "Oldest Existing Illinois Capital City"
Location of Vandalia in Fayette County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 38°58′31″N 89°06′42″W / 38.97528°N 89.11167°W / 38.97528; -89.11167[1]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Fayette
Townships	Vandalia, Bear Grove, Sharon
Founded	1819
Government
• Mayor	Ricky J. Gottman
Area [2]
• Total	8.16 sq mi (21.14 km2)
• Land	8.15 sq mi (21.10 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation [1]	518 ft (158 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,458
• Density	915.43/sq mi (353.46/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code	62471
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-77317
GNIS feature ID	2397119[1]
Website	vandaliaillinois.com

Vandalia is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Illinois, United States.^[3] At the 2020 Census, the population was 7,458. Vandalia is on the Kaskaskia River, and 60 miles (97 km) northeast of the St. Louis area. The city served as the state capital of Illinois from 1819 until 1839, when the seat of state government moved closer to the center of the state in Springfield. In the early 19th century, Vandalia became the western terminus of the National Road from the East Coast. Since 1933, the Vandalia State House State Historic Site preserves and interprets the State House capital building and grounds, originally constructed in 1836.