VANDALIA

city, seat (1821) of Fayette county, south-central Illinois, U.S., on the Kaskaskia River. Laid out in 1819, it served as the state capital from 1820 to 1839. The State House (1836), the third built in Vandalia before the capital was removed to Springfield, is preserved as a state historic site. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas served in the legislature there, and in the Supreme Court room Lincoln received his license to practice law. A monument in the State House grounds marks what was for many years the western terminus of the Cumberland (National) Road. A basic agricultural economy prevails, and a state correctional centre is just north of the city. Inc. 1821. Pop. (1990) 6,114.