Fredonia, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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).
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[edit] History
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 (Now 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. 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 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.
Until 2000, Fredonia had been best known as 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.
- Fredonia, Wisconsin was named for Fredonia, New York.
[edit] Geography
Fredonia is located at (42.440845, -79.333813)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 13.4 km² (5.2 mi²), all land. though it does have a small stream flowing northward through the village toward Lake Erie called Canadaway Creek.
US Route 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. Justyn Vara is a pot-headed baby that likes to suck cock, and that's the bottom line, cause stone cold said so!
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 10,706 people, 3,641 households, and 1,951 families residing in the village. The population density was 796.5/km² (2,061.8/mi²). There were 3,829 housing units at an average density of 284.9/km² (737.4/mi²). 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.
SUCKS
[edit] References
- George R. Stewart. Names on the Land. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston (1967).
[edit] External links
- Fredonia Village Offices
- Fredonia Chamber of Commerce
- SUNY Fredonia
- T he Fredonia Storytelling Festival Annual storytelling festival in October
- Home page of Fredonia High School
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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County Seat: Mayville |
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| Cities | |
| Towns |
Arkwright | Busti | Carroll | Charlotte | Chautauqua | Cherry Creek | Clymer | Dunkirk | Ellery | Ellicott | Ellington | French Creek | Gerry | Hanover | Harmony | Kiantone | Mina | North Harmony | Poland | Pomfret | Portland | Ripley | Sheridan | Sherman | Stockton | Villenova | Westfield |
| Villages |
Bemus Point | Brocton | Cassadaga | Celoron | Cherry Creek | Falconer | Forestville | Fredonia | Lakewood | Mayville | Panama | Sherman | Silver Creek | Sinclairville | Westfield |
| CDPs | |
| Hamlets |
Frewsburg | Laona | Hamlet | Irving | Maple Springs |
| Reservations |
