Welcome to Vandalia ...
Vandalia is located in Jasper County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Vandalia, you might consider that their post office opened in 1856.
Vandalia is 900 feet [274 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Vandalia lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Code for Vandalia: 515
Communities Also Named Vandalia ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 13 communities that are also named Vandalia - they are located in Illinois, Indiana (2), Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia (3).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Vandalia.
Communities near Vandalia ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Vandalia.
- Des Moines
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Altoona
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
- Altoona is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <3>
- Indianola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Newton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Norwalk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Norwalk is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <3>
- Pleasant Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bondurant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondurant have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondurant
- Bondurant is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,293 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bondurant <3>
- Knoxville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Carlisle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mitchellville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
- Mitchellville is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mitchellville <3>
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 Vandalia. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Vandalia.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Vandalia. 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 Vandalia.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Vandalia. See our Newspapers Page for Vandalia.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Vandalia ...
Looking for more information about Vandalia? 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 Vandalia, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Vandalia.
Adding Vandalia to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Vandalia 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 Vandalia was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>
From that list, the Vandalia post office opened in 1856.
We also found Vandalia in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Vandalia.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Jasper, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Vandalia - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |