Fredonia

History

Fredonia was laid out in 1868 near a large hillock located along the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway in southeast Kansas. It was named after Fredonia, New York. The first building on the town site was a general store, erected in 1868, on the southwest corner of the town square, soon followed by a simple courthouse and hotel. The first post office was established in August 1868. The Gold Dust Hotel was completed in 1885. It became a booming town with an emphasis on large industry. In May 1913, a large vein of semi-anthracite coal was discovered near the town. The coal that was found was “said to be of better quality than any other found in Kansas” at that time. The economy in Fredonia was again boosted by the Archer Daniels Midland Company. The plant was obtained in 1928 and operated as a soybean processing facility and supplied many jobs for the growing industrial town. In March 2003 the plant announced it would close its Fredonia branch effective immediately. At one time, Fredonia was a hub for oil and natural gas development.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The area climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Fredonia has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. On July 18, 1936, Fredonia set the Kansas record high temperature of 121 °F. This record was later tied by Alton, Kansas. In late June and early July 2007, Fredonia was one of several communities in Southeast Kansas to experience record flooding. On the night of June 29, at least 10 inches of rainfall was recorded and additional rainfall fell over the weekend of June 30 and July 1. On the night of June 30, a Topeka television station reported on its website that 100 people in Wilson County had lost their homes due to the flooding.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  110
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  93
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  92
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  89
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  82
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  80
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  78
• Eastern Meadowlark

  Sturnella magna (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  74

Largest nearby schools

• Fredonia Jr./Sr. High School
  High · Fredonia · 293 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Lincoln Elementary
  Elementary · Fredonia · 286 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• Fredonia Early Learning Center
  Elementary · Fredonia · 78 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Fredonia Virtual Academy
  Other · Fredonia · 1 students