Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Vandalia (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Vandalia. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Vandalia is located in Owen County.
To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Owen County: Clay, Greene, Monroe, Morgan & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Vandalia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vandalia:
- Owen County (The home county of Vandalia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Atkinsonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Patricksburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Patricksburg is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
- Spencer
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cuba
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Freedom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Arney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Denmark
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Gosport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Coal City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Quincy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Quincy is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Brown County
- Helmsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Bowling Green
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bowling Green is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowling Green
- Poland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Center Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Clay City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Eel River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Eel River is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eel River
- Roadman Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Roadman Corner is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadman Corner
- Saline City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Saline City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Prairie City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
- Art
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Art is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art
- Howesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Howesville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howesville
- Harmony
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Harmony is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 639 people
- Cory
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cory is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cory
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Newark
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Calvertville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- Hendricksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Worthington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tulip
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Solsberry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Elliston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Jasonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mineral City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Midland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Midland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Switz City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hendricks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Stilesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coatesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hazelwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Hendricks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Reno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Reno is located in Hendricks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Amo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Popcorn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Judah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Judah is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judah
- Springville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Guthrie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Martin County
- Crane
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Stinesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Ellettsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Stanford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Dolan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Bloomington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Kirksville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Unionville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Smithville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harrodsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Lewisville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Minetree ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Minetree is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minetree
- Minetree has also been known as:
- Billtown
- Meintree
- Menietree
- Paragon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Eminence
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Eminence is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eminence
- Plano
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Plano is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Martinsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hall is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall
- Wilbur
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Mahalasville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Monrovia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Hart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Hart is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hart
- Parke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Bridgeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mansfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ferndale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ferndale is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Rosedale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rosedale is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
- Rosedale has also been known as:
- Roseville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosedale <1>
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Cloverdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Reelsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Reelsville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reelsville
- Putnamville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Putnamville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
- Belle Union
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Union is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Union
- Limedale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Limedale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limedale
- Greencastle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fillmore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fillmore is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Hymera
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hymera is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Dugger
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gambill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gambill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gambill
- Farmersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Jericho
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jericho is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Scotchtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Scotchtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown
- Shelburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Vigo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Lewis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lewis is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Grange Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grange Corner is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange Corner
- Riley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Riley is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Seelyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Seelyville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seelyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,004 people
- Swalls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Swalls is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swalls
- Glen Ayre
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Ayre is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ayre
- Burnett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burnett is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Fontanet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fontanet is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanet
- Pimento
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pimento is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimento
- Youngstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Youngstown is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
- Sandcut
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sandcut is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandcut
- North Terre Haute
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Terre Haute is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Terre Haute
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vandalia, see our County-by-County Page for Vandalia.
Cemeteries Near Vandalia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vandalia.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Vandalia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vandalia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Palestine Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Walley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Splinter Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fender Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Tipton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Spears Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Galimore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- White Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Witham Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (372 more) ...
- Cloyd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kaufman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Vandalia had a population of 71 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Atkinsonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Patricksburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Patricksburg is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
- Spencer
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cuba
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Jordan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jordan is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Arney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Freedom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Romona
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Romona is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romona
- Carp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Carp is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carp
- Cataract
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cataract is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataract
- Farmers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Farmers is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers
- Vilas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Vilas is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Adel
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Adel is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
- Bowling Green
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bowling Green is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowling Green
- Freeman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Freeman is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vandalia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vandalia.
Newspapers Published in Vandalia ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vandalia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vandalia, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vandalia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Vandalia:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Owen County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Clay County
- Greene County
- Hendricks County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Parke County
- Putnam County
- Sullivan County
- Vigo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Vandalia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vandalia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |