Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,209 during the 2020 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of Interstate 75 and Interstate 70.
At a Glance
- County: Montgomery County
- State: Ohio
History of Vandalia
On August 17, 1838, Benjamin Wilhelm, a settler from Pennsylvania, settled near what is now the intersection of U.S. Route 40 and US Route 25 A. He built his home and a small general store as a stop and resting place for travelers heading west. The small town began to attract travelers and businessmen, and on February 7, 1848, the town was incorporated as "The Village of Vandalia" with Benjamin Wilhelm as its first mayor. The village was laid out in 38 lots including a church, hotels, blacksmiths shops, a steam sawmill, meat markets, and a carriage shop. It was named after Vandalia, Illinois.
By 1959, Vandalia was outgrowing its "village" status, and its citizens voted to make it a council manager form of government, effectively making the village into a municipal corporation. On January 2, 1960, Vandalia became a Charter City of the State of Ohio.
The Delphi Automotive manufacturing plant in Vandalia, which opened in the 1930s, cut back operations in 2003. It continued to operate "through Delphi’s time in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, from October 2005 to October 2009," and was purchased by Mahle Behr in 2015.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Vandalia, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.