Fredonia, NY Community Info

The village of Fredonia is located south of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County, New York.  Fredonia, NY is situated within the town of Pomfret, and borders the city of Dunkirk, NY. In the northwest area of the village lies the State University of New York at Fredonia. According to the 2014 U.S. Census, Fredonia, NY has a population of 10,792. Fredonia is one of only twelve villages in New York state that remain incorporated under a charter. 

 

It is believed that Fredonia was first inhabited by early Mound Builders, then by the Erie people, and then by the Iroquois. In 1791, a man named Robert Morris purchased the Fredonia land and sold it to the Holland Land Company.  The first well to produce natural gas in the United States was dug along the banks of Canadaway Creek in Fredonia, NY in 1821. The village was officially incorporated in 1829. It was originally called Canadaway, but was later named Fredonia, inspired by the Latin word for “freedom.”