Village of Fredonia, NY - About Fredonia, NY

Location

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:57:33 -0500

The village of Fredonia is located in the Town of Pomfret in Chautauqua County in western New York State at
42°26'27"N, 79°20'2"W
(42.440845, -79.333813).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.2 mi² (13.4 km²).

View an interactive map of Fredonia.

Statistics

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 14:33:07 -0600

As of the U.S. Census of 2000, there were 10,706 people, 3,641 households, and 1,951 families residing in the village.

See more information at Wikipedia.org

A Fredonia Trivia Quiz or "What every Fredonian Should Know"

1. What New York State Village uses the name once proposed for this entire country? (Fredonia)

2. Where is the first gas well in the US located that was used for commercial and municipal purposes? Hint: It was first given national attention during the visit of General Layfayette in 1826. (85 West Main St., Fredonia, NY.)

3. Where was the first farmer's Grange in the US located? Hint: The Grange was a farmers' co-op which became a political/ecomonic movement to protect agriculture and set standards for production. (West Main St., Fredonia, NY.)

4. What local restaurant was listed in Duncan Hines's original "Adventures in Good Eating" publication? (The White Inn, Fredonia, NY)

5. What famous author chose Fredonia, NY as the home for his mother and sister while he was editor of the "Bufallo Courier"? Hint: He donated a large number of books to the local D.R. Barker Library and is rumored to have used Fredonia as the setting for a short story entitled "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg". (Samuel Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain)

History

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 23:19:38 -0600

The community was first settled around 1804.

In 1821 William Hart dug the first successful gas well in what is now the Village of Fredonia. It supplied enough natural gas for lights in two stores, two shops and a grist mill by 1825. Expanding on Hart's work, the Fredonia Gas Light Company was eventually formed in 1858, becoming the first American natural gas company.

The Village of Fredonia was incorporated in 1829. SUNY Fredonia originally opened as Fredonia Academy in 1826. That building is now the Village Hall. The original name for the area was Canadaway (from the Indian word Ganadawao, meaning Among the hemlocks).

In the mid 19th century Fredonia became the home of the first dues-paying Grange of the Grange movement. The United States' first Grange Hall was erected in Fredonia during the late 1860s (the Fredonia Grange was established on April 16, 1868), and the original building (Grange Hall #1) still stands on Main Street. Fredonia was also host to the first meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, which was held at the Fredonia Baptist Church in 1873.

(from WIKIPEDIA.ORG)

See more history at: http://fredoniachamber.org/history.html

Village of Fredonia's Firsts

First Gas Well and Village lighted in United States in 1821
General Lafayette visited in 1825
The first Grange established in the United States in 1868
The Women's Christian Temperance Union founded in 1873