Vandalia, Ohio

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Vandalia, Ohio
settlement_type = City
nickname = "The Crossroads of America"
motto =

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imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Aerial view of Vandalia, with the Dayton International Airport to the north


image_

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Vandalia, Ohio

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mapsize1 = 250px
map_caption1 = Location within Montgomery County, Ohio

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Ohio
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Montgomery

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 30.8
area_land_km2 = 30.6
area_water_km2 = 0.2
area_total_sq_mi = 11.9
area_land_sq_mi = 11.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.1

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 14603
population_density_km2 = 477.4
population_density_sq_mi = 1236.5

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_m = 303
elevation_ft = 994
latd = 39 |latm = 52 |lats = 47 |latNS = N
longd = 84 |longm = 11 |longs = 37 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 45377
area_code = 937
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 39-79492GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1049271GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Vandalia is a citycite web
url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=vandalia&_cityTown=vandalia&_state=04000US39&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y
title=Vandalia city, Ohio - fact sheet
accessdate=2007-09-13
work=American FactFinder
publisher=US census bureau
quote=Vandalia city] in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton.cite web
url=http://www.vandaliaohio.com/
title=City of Vandalia, Ohio: information resources for Vandalia residents and visitors.
accessdate=2007-09-15
publisher=Cities Unlimited Corporation] Its population was 14,603 during the 2000 census. The James M. Cox Dayton International Airport is located in the city. Vandalia is a sister city to Lichtenfels, Germany and Prestwick, Scotland. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Vandalia is located at coor dms|39|52|47|N|84|11|37|W|city (39.879856, -84.193599),GR|1 about 10 miles north of Dayton on Dixie Drive (former U.S. Highway 25). It is between the Great Miami River and the Stillwater River. The city has been called the "Crossroads of America" due to its location on the National Road and the Dixie Highway. These correspond to U.S. Route 40 and the decommissioned U.S. Route 25, which in turn, have been supplanted by two major expressways: east-west Interstate 70 and north-south Interstate 75.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.9 square miles (30.8 km²), 11.8 square miles (30.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.59%) is water.

History

On August 17, 1838, Benjamin Wilhelm, a settler from Pennsylvania, settled in Vandalia on his way to Vandalia, Illinois near the intersection of U.S. Route 40 and US Route 25-A. He stopped here and named his new town after his original destination. 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 entrepreneurs, 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. The first church was started by the United Brethren congregation.

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 1, 1960, Vandalia became a Charter City of the State of Ohio.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 14,603 people, 6,235 households, and 4,090 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,236.5 people per square mile (477.4/km²). There were 6,489 housing units at an average density of 549.5/sq mi (212.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.08% White, 1.28% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.

There were 6,235 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,463, and the median income for a family was $55,270. Males had a median income of $41,938 versus $26,853 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,199. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Since the beginning of the new millennium, Vandalia has become a warehouse for commercial, residential, and business growth. In fact, this is how Vandalia's tagline, "The Crossroads of America" received its name. [http://www.ci.vandalia.oh.us/history-info.cfm]

According to Alex Kolodesh, a developer involved with SINGER Properties, an outdoor mall/urban center (much like the Greene [http://thegreene.com/] in Beavercreek) is being planned for the largely popular Miller Lane area. It will be located somewhere in York Commons. Construction is to start Spring 2009. Also planned is a trolley specifically designed for York Commons and the Vandalia-Butler area. [http://singerproperties.com/BJ-YorkTrolley-08.htm] It will be free and open to the public starting October 2008.

Education

*Vandalia-Butler City School District is one of Ohio's top-rated school districts. It is one of only two districts to win the EXCELLENCY rating every year since it started in 2002. [http://www.vandaliabutlerschools.org/index.html]

Notable residents

Vandaila is home to Christian Metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada.Vandalia is also home to Josh Betts of the Indianapolis Colts, [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=9866] and Seth Gorney of the Iowa Hawkeyes [http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/38034] . Vandalia was also the hometown of Maria Lauterbach, a Marine who's murder in 2007 made national headlines [http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com/?p=492] .

Things To Do

The City of Vandalia boasts several seasonal festivals and events, such as the annual Oktoberfest in the autumn, the Homecoming parade in the fall, and the Air Show & Parade in the summer. [http://www.ci.vandalia.oh.us/Air_Show_Parade.cfm] They also host one of Ohio's largest firework shows, The Star-Spangled Celebration. Other events include "Taste of Vandalia", a culinary event, the Vandalia Corporate Challenge, and the Dayton Business Convention. [http://www.ci.vandalia.oh.us/New_Resident.cfm]

Parks and Recreation

Vandalia has a top-rated parks and recreation community. [http://www.ci.vandalia.oh.us/Parks.cfm] Vandalia has over thirty parks in the area. Some of the larger ones include Helke Park, Art Van Atta Park, and the Vandalia Sports Complex. It is also home to two Dayton-Metro parks: Taylorsvile, home to the hisoric village of Tadmor, and the Aullwood Audobon Center, an outdoor/indoor natural museum. Vandalia also is home of the Vandalia Recreation Center, a highly popular rec facility. [http://vandalia.besavvy.egovlink.com/Rec_Center.cfm]

Wright Brothers Monument

A tall, 250 foot tall tower will sit on the highway interchange in Vandalia soon. The monument, which will be iron, glass, and brick will be close to the extremely popular Miller Lane development. The city of Vandalia is hoping their city will become a highly popular tourist zone, or "edge city." [http://wrightmonument.org/]

ister cities

Vandalia has two sister cities, as designated by the [http://www.sister-cities.org/ Sister Cities International] :

References

External links

* [http://www.vandaliaohio.org Official Vandalia City Webpage]
* [http://www.daytonmetrolibrary.org/branch.cfm?ID=35 Dayton Metro Library, Vandalia Branch]
* [http://www.vandaliabutlerschools.org Vandalia-Butler City Schools]