Vandalia

Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,246 during the 2010 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of I-75 and I-70, making it a major hub for business.

In 2009 Vandalia and Butler Township officials announced plans to jointly staff two fire stations to improve service delivery and response times. The joint agreement marks the third time in the recent past that Vandalia City officials have joined with neighboring communities for a common goal. The City of Vandalia shares a wastewater treatment facility with Tipp City and Huber Heights. The Tri-Cities Wastewater Treatment Plant has been in operation since 1985, and jointly owned by the three cities since 1991. In 2007, the Northern Area Water Authority (NAWA) began supplying drinking water to Vandalia and Tipp City. The plant is jointly owned by the two communities.

The city of Vandalia recently passed plans to reinvent the city's urban core around National Road and Dixie Drive. The plan is to bring many of the old shopping centers to the street front while placing parking spaces in the back. The first business to take part in this plan was My Favorite Pet on National in which a new building was built next to Wendy's in 2008.

Until 2005, Vandalia was home to the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), which moved to Sparta, Illinois after an expansion of the Dayton International Airport.

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,603 people, 6,235 households, and 4,090 families residing in the city. As of 2009 there were 27,298 citizens. The population density was 1,236.5 people per square mile (477.4/km). There were 6,489 housing units at an average density of 549.5 per square mile (212.1/km). 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.

The city of Dayton had proposed an extension to the Dayton International Airport in 1998 that would annex part of Butler Township. The plan would disturb the natural shape of the city of Vandalia and it would disturb the shape of the National Road or Rt. 40. The proposals were canceled, however in 2008, when the city of Vandalia purchased the same land that was partially owned by the University of Dayton, the city of Dayton began to work on their redeveloped expansion of the airport which included a new sight tower and updating of landscaping and the Airport Access Road. The same land will soon see increased development with the opening of MAC, Morton Middle School, Vandalia-Butler Fire Station #1, and is zoned for increased high end, tech office jobs. The land is also heavily developed as an office park with a mix of retail stores and restaurants.

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.

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 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. It was named after Vandalia, Illinois.