Freda was founded in 1910 as a station along the Milwaukee Railroad, when the area was still part of Morton County. It was named for Freda Van Sickle, the daughter of the railroad's construction foreman. It was once a major population center in the area, with a peak population of 50 in 1920. Freda replaced an older town of Pearce, which was a rural post office founded in 1906 by postmaster Asa Levi Pearce. The post office was later moved one mile to the west and renamed Freda. The post office closed in 1975, and in 1976 just two people were reportedly still living in the town.
A meteorite displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's American Museum of Natural History was discovered here in 1919.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Freda Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1971Timmer sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Freda Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Freda Township
Nobody well known was born in Freda Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
