The Crossroads of America

The Crossroads of America. Vandalia. Transportation has played a significant role in Vandalia since the community’s beginnings as a part of Butler Township. In April 1811, a construction contract was awarded for the first 10-mile section of National Road beginning at Cumberland, Maryland. This was the first federally-funded interstate highway. One hundred years later, in 1911, construction began on a lake-to-gulf highway from Detroit to Cincinnati alng a north-south dirt path through Vandalia known as Troy Pike and later designated as the Dixie Highway. Vandalia became known as the “Crossroads of America,” with the intersection of National Road (US 40) and the Dixie Highway (US 25). During the early 1900s, the Dayton and Troy Electric Railway ran through the “Crossroads,” and the Al Johnson Flying Service operated on approximately 310 acres just northwest of the “Crossroads.” The railway discontinued service in 1932; freight service eventually re-emerged with the establishment of the CSX Railroad. The Al Johnson Flying Service closed in 1934; then, the Dayton Municipal Airport emerged to later become the James M. Cox Dayton International Airport. Today, the intersection of Interstate 75, a north-south route, and Interstate 70, an east-west route, is recognized as the modern-day “Crossroads of America.”

The Village of Vandalia was platted August 4, 1838 at the “Crossroads,” which was then the crossing point of two dirt trails. The founder, Mr. Benjamin Wilheim, a settler from Pennsylvania, laid out the village in 33 lots which included his own home and a small general store he built on the National Road as a stop for travelers heading west. During the early years, the village had a church, hotels, blacksmiths, a steam sawmill, meat markets and a carriage shop. The village began to attract travelers and entrepreneurs; on February 7, 1848 it was officially incorporated as the Village of Vandalia with William Wilheim as first mayor. By 1959, Vandalia was outgrowing its “village” status; its citizens voted for a council-manager form of government, effectively making the village into a municipal corporation. Vandalia prides itself as being located at “The Crossroads of America,” incorporating this motto as part of the City’s logo since becoming a Charter City of the State of Ohio on January 2, 1960.