Welcome to Vail ...
Vail is located in Blair County<1>.
The location of Vail has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Vail, you might consider that their post office opened in 1889.
When the people of Vail refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Vailite<3>
Vail is 990 feet [302 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Vail lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Vail is within the (814) area code.
Websites for Vail ...
Chamber of Commerce: www.blairchamber.com/
Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Vail, the following might be of interest:
Communities Also Named Vail ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Vail - they are located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky (2), Michigan, New Jersey and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Vail.
Communities near Vail ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Vail.
- Altoona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
- Altoona is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42,989 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <5>
- State College
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State College
- State College is located in Centre County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,366 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for State College <5>
- Huntingdon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon
- Huntingdon is located in Huntingdon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,879 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntingdon <5>
- Philipsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Philipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philipsburg
- Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,678 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philipsburg <5>
- Bellwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Bellwood is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,751 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <5>
- Williamsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Williamsburg is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsburg <5>
- Osceola Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osceola Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola Mills
- Osceola Mills is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,058 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osceola Mills <5>
- Chester Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chester Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
- Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
- Houtzdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houtzdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houtzdale
- Houtzdale is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houtzdale <5>
- Irvona
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvona
- Irvona is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 602 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irvona <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Vail. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Vail.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Vail. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vail.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Vail. See our Newspapers Page for Vail.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Vail ...
Looking for more information about Vail? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Vail, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Vail.
Adding Vail to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Vail in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Vail was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Vail post office opened in 1889.
We also found Vail in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Vail.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vail. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties, including Blair, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Vail refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Vail may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Vail - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |