Fredonia, New York

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Fredonia, New York
settlement_type = Village
nickname =
motto =

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pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of New York
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New York
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Chautauqua
government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
leader_name =
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leader_name1 =
established_title =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 13.4
area_land_km2 = 13.4
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 5.2
area_land_sq_mi = 5.2
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 10706
population_density_km2 = 796.0
population_density_sq_mi = 2061.8

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 220
elevation_ft = 722
latd = 42 |latm = 26 |lats = 27 |latNS = N
longd = 79 |longm = 20 |longs = 2 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 14063
area_code = 716
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 36-27419
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0950652
website =
footnotes =

Fredonia is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 10,706 at the 2000 census.

The Village of Fredonia is in the Town of Pomfret south of Lake Erie. The village borders the City of Dunkirk and is the home of the State University of New York Fredonia (in the northwest part of the village).

History

The area which is now Fredonia was most likely first occupied by early Mound Builders, then the Eries (13th to 17th centuries), then the Iroquois and Senecas. [Daniel D., Architecture in Fredonia, New York, 1811-1997, p. 26, White Pine Press (1997) (ISBN 1-877727-86-5)] In 1791, Robert Morris purchased the Fredonia land from Massachusetts and sold it to the Holland Land Company. [Daniel D., Architecture in Fredonia, New York, 1811-1997, p. 26, White Pine Press (1997) (ISBN 1-877727-86-5)] Parcels were sold to pioneers around 1800, and the first settlers came around 1803 or 1804. [Daniel D., Architecture in Fredonia, New York, 1811-1997, p. 26, White Pine Press (1997) (ISBN 1-877727-86-5)]

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 (currently the village's Fire Station) 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 site of the first gas well is marked by a stone monument in downtown Fredonia.

The Village of Fredonia was incorporated in 1829. The original name for the area was Canadaway (from the Indian word "Ganadawao", meaning "among the hemlocks"). The name "Fredonia" was coined by Samuel Latham Mitchill, coupling the English word "freedom" with a Latin ending. He proposed it as a replacement name for the United States. It failed in that regard, but became the name of many towns and cities (Stewart, pg. 173).

Established within 20 years of the founding of the Village of Fredonia, the Fredonia Academy was the first higher educational institution in Chautauqua County. It was started in 1824, and opened in 1826. The Academy became a State Normal School in 1866. On August 8, 1867, a long-awaited event took place when the cornerstone of the Fredonia Normal School was laid on a site where the Old Main building stands today. The Normal School used the Academy's building, which stood on the site of the present Village Hall, until the Old Normal was completed in 1868. Thereafter the Academy building was used for some time as Fire Department Headquarters. Today the building houses the Village offices and includes the 1891 Fredonia Opera House, a former Vaudeville theater that fell into disrepair in the 1970s while being operated as a movie house. The Theater underwent a complete nine-year restoration in the 1980s by the Fredonia Preservation Society and a cadre of volunteers. It now serves as a year-round performing arts center. In 1930 under the director of the Normal School, Hermann Cooper, 58 acres of land west of Central Avenue were bought with the dream that one day it would become a campus. The construction of a music building took place in 1939 and in 1942 the Feinberg Law changed the Normal School into a Teachers College. By the late 1940s the college became a vital part of the new State University of New York or SUNY system.

In the mid 19th century Fredonia became the home of the first dues-paying Grange. 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.

During the Olympic Torch's trip in the 1996 Atlanta Summer games, a sixth grade teacher from Fredonia Middle School carried the torch as it went through the town on US Route 20.

Until 2000, Fredonia was the location of the Buffalo Bills Summer training camp. The Bills moved their training camp in 2000 to St. John Fisher College near Rochester, New York.

Samuel L. Clemens, better known as Mark Twain had connections to Fredonia, via relatives.

Geography

Fredonia is located at coor dms|42|26|27|N|79|20|2|W|city (42.440845, -79.333813).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.4 km²), all of it land. though it does have a small stream flowing northward through the village toward Lake Erie called Canadaway Creek.

US 20 passes through the village. Exit 59 on the New York State Thruway, which passes north of the village, services both Fredonia and Dunkirk by way of New York State Route 60.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 10,706 people, 3,641 households, and 1,951 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,061.8 people per square mile (796.5/km²). There were 3,829 housing units at an average density of 737.4/sq mi (284.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.36% White, 1.02% African American, 0.32% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.

There were 3,641 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.4% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the village the population was spread out with 15.7% under the age of 18, 38.0% from 18 to 24, 18.0% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 83.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,712, and the median income for a family was $49,549. Males had a median income of $36,322 versus $27,718 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,685. About 4.9% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Residents

* Jennifer Stuczynski, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games pole vaulting silver medal winner

References

* George R. Stewart. "Names on the Land". Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston (1967).

External links

* [http://village.fredonia.ny.us Fredonia Village Offices]
* [http://www.fredoniachamber.org Fredonia Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://ww1.fredonia.edu/fweb/default.aspx SUNY Fredonia]
* [http://www.fredonia.wnyric.org Home page] of Fredonia High School (New York)
* [http://www.fredopera.org Fredonia Opera House]
* [http://www.festivalsfredonia.com Festivals Fredonia]