Vandalia is a small town of fewer than 7,000 people on the Kaskaskia River in south-central Illinois, sitting at the intersection of I-70 and US 51. It served as the state capital of Illinois from 1819 to 1839, and that two-decade stretch of political importance left a mark that far outweighs the town's current size.
The old Vandalia State House, a handsome Federal-style building on the town square, is now a state historic site and well worth a stop. A young Abraham Lincoln served as a state legislator here in the 1830s — it was the only public office he held before being elected president. The building has been carefully restored to its 1830s appearance, and admission is free. Across the square, the Little Brick House is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Illinois.
Vandalia is also the western terminus of the old National Road (now US 40), the first federally funded highway in the United States. A Madonna of the Trail statue on the courthouse lawn commemorates the pioneer women who traveled it. One more local curiosity worth knowing about: the Kaskaskia Dragon on the north side of town, a coin-operated fire-breathing metal sculpture that has become a low-key regional attraction. The town is a reasonable rest stop if you are driving I-70 across Illinois, and the Kaskaskia River bottomlands south of town offer decent fishing and some quiet country roads for cycling.