Vandalia Community Preservation Association

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Vandalia Community Preservation Association

The VCPA exists to maintain & preserve the Vandalia (Indiana) chapel & one-room schoolhouse (recognized on the National Register of Historic Places) .

For more details about the Vandalia Community Preservation Association, please visit our website: https://vandaliacpa.org

About Us

The Vandalia Community Preservation Association, Inc., was organized in 1995 by a small all-volunteer group of concerned community members, who recognized the important historic significance of the former Vandalia United Methodist Church building and undertook its p

urchase, preservation, and restoration. Built in 1895, the (then) century-old building was acquired by the VCPA from the Methodist Conference after attendance dwindled and the few remaining active members had voted to discontinue services and close the church. The dedicated small community group proceeded to restore the bell tower, replace the front steps, and repaint the entire building, and in 1996 earned the Owen County Preservation of the Year Award for the historic Vandalia Chapel. Land for the Vandalia District #2 School, which is located near the chapel, was donated in 1863. The one-room building served the area’s rural students (grades 1 - 8) from around 1868, when it was completed, until it was closed in 1951. The schoolhouse, restored by community and other volunteers in 1976, is also presently maintained and preserved by the VCPA. All donations made to this nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization [Vandalia Community Preservation Association, 5471 Vandalia Road, Spencer, IN 47460, Attention: Treasurer] are used for upkeep and preservation of these two important 19th-century Owen County, Indiana landmarks.

03/09/2026

A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the Flona Everly Query Memorial Fund during the month of February 2026. The Owen County Community Foundation has again generously matched your gifts! Earnings from this designated perpetual endowment fund provide an annual grant to help the Vandalia Community Preservation Association to preserve and maintain our historic Chapel and Schoolhouse. We are most grateful for your continued support of historic preservation in Vandalia, Indiana.

Owen County Preservations, Sweet Owen Tourism, Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Community Foundation

VCPA Board of Directors 2026

02/27/2026

IMAGES FROM VANDALIA'S PAST
Siblings Alvin Bruce and Sarah (son and daughter of Anna Marie Strouse Davis and Jonathan Wesley Davis) are pictured here in Vandalia during the late 19th century. Bruce (as well as some siblings in the upstairs window) is also pictured standing with his mother outside their Vandalia home. The Davis family was among the early settlers in Lafayette Township and many family members were put to rest in the Vandalia Methodist Cemetery. Bruce’s Uncle William was a merchant and James Davis, who was postmaster, kept a hotel in the village of Vandalia during its heydey.
(Photos provided courtesy of Davis family descendants)

Sweet Owen Tourism, Owen County Community Foundation, Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Preservations

02/02/2026

The Owen County Community Foundation is, once again, matching dollar-for-dollar all gifts made to the Flona Everly Query Memorial Fund during the month of February 2026. Mailing information is included in the OCCF announcement for anyone who wishes to consider contributing to this fund (designated to help the Vandalia Community Preservation Association with an annual grant as we strive to preserve and maintain the 130-year-old Vandalia Chapel and one-room Schoolhouse). For those who might choose to give online, a direct link to donate electronically follows: https://owencountycf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1034

Owen County Community Foundation, Indiana Landmarks, Sweet Owen Tourism

11/25/2025

This Thanksgiving week the VCPA gives special thanks to our friends, families, and Lloyd Wood, a generous and humble Owen County treasure, who has throughout the years blessed us with his friendship, time, and tremendous talent. “An Afternoon with Lloyd Wood,” a WCSM General Store podcast found at the following URL, is a heart-warming and entertaining interview with this extraordinary human being (well worth watching in its entirety):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faU8LGE_xgI

Thank you, Lloyd!

The Lloyd Wood Fan Club , Sweet Owen Tourism, Owen County Preservations, Owen County Community Foundation, Indiana Landmarks

11/22/2025

Today, Vandalia fondly remembers Leona (Malicoat) Boler Carter (1920-2013), a well-known past community leader who shared this recipe published in the nostalgic Willie Wirehand Cookbook (compiled and distributed in 1974 by the Morgan County Rural Electric Membership Corporation). Aside from so many pleasant memories associated with Leona, a remaining part of her legacy is her youngest son, who presently serves on the Vandalia Community Preservation Association’s Board of Directors.

Owen County Preservations, Sweet Owen Tourism, Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Community Foundation, South Central Indiana REMC

11/04/2025

The Vandalia Community Preservation Association is most grateful to each of you who contributed in any way to the success of our 2025 Chili Fest and concert. We are extremely happy to have hosted such a wonderful group of old and new friends on a beautiful fall day in Owen County’s historic village of Vandalia. It is only through the work of volunteers and with the continued support of like-minded people that, since our historic preservation mission began here in 1995, the VCPA has been able to save the old (1895) chapel and one-room (circa 1868) schoolhouse in our community. Thank you!

Owen County Preservations, Indiana Landmarks, Sweet Owen Tourism, Owen County Community Foundation, The Lloyd Wood Fan Club

10/29/2025

Reminder: This upcoming weekend event is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a good home-made meal, experience the multi-talented Lloyd Wood band up close and personal (in a special old building with great acoustics), and support historic preservation in Owen County. Come out to the village of Vandalia, Indiana on November 2 and see for yourself!
Owen County Preservations, Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Community Foundation, Sweet Owen Tourism, The Lloyd Wood Fan Club

10/22/2025

Up, Down, Change, Memories

Reminders are now UP for passing motorists and leaves are rapidly coming DOWN, as autumn colors CHANGE here in Vandalia, Indiana. Come enjoy another Chili Fest with us at 5471 Vandalia Road and make some new MEMORIES on November 2!

Sweet Owen Tourism, Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Community Foundation, Owen County Preservations, The Lloyd Wood Fan Club

10/15/2025

It speaks to the tremendous talent and popularity of the Lloyd Wood band that a capacity crowd enjoyed their July concert in the historic Tivoli Theater—the view from the stage was shared by a band member. Lloyd and the band will again be entertaining with a fall concert on Sunday afternoon, November 2, 2025, in Vandalia’s 1895 chapel (another much-loved, albeit smaller, Owen County historic site). It would be wonderful to see the pews in our special old building filled during the Vandalia Community Preservation Association Chili Fest!

Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Preservations, Sweet Owen Tourism, Owen County Community Foundation, The Lloyd Wood Fan Club

10/08/2025

October is already well under way, and it won’t be long before clocks in south central Indiana again roll back by one hour. The day that happens on Sunday, November 2, 2025, we’ll be gathering in Vandalia for an afternoon of food, fun, and fellowship. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us for our annual Chili Fest, with delicious soup and desserts prepared and served by VCPA volunteers, featuring outstanding entertainment by Owen County native Lloyd Wood and his multi-talented band!

Sweet Owen Tourism, Owen County Preservations, Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Community Foundation, The Lloyd Wood Fan Club

09/30/2025

Thank you for joining us as (after nearly 30 years of persistence and continued all-volunteer effort to preserve the historic Vandalia chapel and one-room school house) we pause, with a brief video, to remember our beginning and pay tribute to a past community leader, master craftsman, and the first VCPA Board president.

Indiana Landmarks, Owen County Preservations, Owen County Community Foundation, Sweet Owen Tourism

08/12/2025

Owen County native and well-remembered Vandalia resident Nellie Ruth Fiscus Powell (1902 – 1994) spent the first 15 years of her 44-year teaching career at the Vandalia, Splinter Ridge, and Rawley one-room schools. She retired in 1968 after devoting 29 years to educating third-grade students at the Patricksburg school.

An active member of the philanthropic Vandalia United Methodist Women (a.ka. Vandalia Women’s Circle), here’s a recipe she shared with her friends. ( #2 in a VCPA series of old recipe posts)

Owen County Preservations, Sweet Owen Tourism, Owen County Community Foundation, Indiana Landmarks

Address

5471 Vandalia Road
Vandalia, IN
47460

Website

https://vandaliacpa.org/

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Our Story

The Vandalia Community Preservation Association, Inc., was organized in 1995 by a small all-volunteer group of concerned community members, who recognized the important historic significance of the former Vandalia United Methodist Church building and undertook its purchase, preservation, and restoration. Built in 1895, the (then) century-old building was acquired by the VCPA from the Methodist Conference after attendance dwindled and the few remaining active members had voted to discontinue services and close the church. The dedicated small community group proceeded to restore the bell tower, replace the front steps, and repaint the entire building, and in 1996 earned the Owen County Preservation of the Year Award for the historic Vandalia Chapel.

Land for the Vandalia District #2 School, which is located near the chapel, was donated in 1863. The one-room building served the area’s rural students (grades 1 - 8) from around 1868, when it was completed, until it was closed in 1951. The schoolhouse, restored by community and other volunteers in 1976, is also presently maintained and preserved by the VCPA.

All donations made to this nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization [Vandalia Community Preservation Association, 5471 Vandalia Road, Spencer, IN 47460, Attention: Treasurer] are used for upkeep and preservation of these two important 19th-century Owen County, Indiana landmarks.