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History · Fredonia

Fredonia’s post office opened in 1870, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fredonia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fredonia began

When was Fredonia founded?

1870

The Fredonia post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1876.

First census: 323 in 18802020 census: 436156 years
Founding year: the first Fredonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1876.The full story ↓

What stands out about Fredonia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 731 in 1970; 436 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1970. Watch Fredonia change.Old housesHalf of Fredonia’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fredonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fredonia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFredonia, PA: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Fredonia, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 731

Peaked at 731 in 1970; 436 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fredonia’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Fredonia on the map, 1908 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fredonia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fredonia on the 1908 USGS mapFredonia on the 1958 USGS mapFredonia on the 1970 USGS map1908Shenango sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fredonia.

The story

How Fredonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fredonia.

Read it all →

The first resident of the area that became Fredonia was Levi Arnold. Arnold build a grist mill there between 1837 and 1838 and was, over time, joined by several other businesses and residences. William Simmons built the first store in the small village. Based upon the success of his business and the further gains that could be made after the construction of a proposed railroad, Simmons purchased the land that became the borough of Fredonia and had it surveyed and divided into lots. The land came was purchased from two “Donation tracts,” which were tracts of land given to Revolutionary War soldiers in an attempt to encourage them to continue to serve. The name “Fredonia” came from Simmon’s “free” donation of the land for the town square and as a nod to the “Donation” tracts from which the land was purchased. The first post office was established in 1870 and Fredonia was officially incor…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Fredonia in 1888

Passages that mention Fredonia, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The little stream known as Morrison’s Run furnished the motor-power, and coarse granite blocks served as mill-stones. In 1838 the fine grist-mill now standing near Fredonia was erected by Levi Arnold. In 1845 George Slater built a saw-mill on the land afterward owned by Isaac Slater. Other mills fo…
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 524Read the page →
Read the text

The little stream known as Morrison’s Run furnished the motor-power, and coarse granite blocks served as mill-stones. In 1838 the fine grist-mill now standing near Fredonia was erected by Levi Arnold. In 1845 George Slater built a saw-mill on the land afterward owned by Isaac Slater. Other mills followed in due time, notably McDowell’ s saw mill, built in 1854, on the banks of Otter Creek, by George McDowell; Clark’s steam mill, built in the fall of 1869, by Thomas and Joseph Clark, and the Mosteller steam mill, erected nearly the same time. There have been other minor mills, and also temporary

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Fredonia was incorporated as a borough in August, 1876, and then commenced its official life. The census of 1880 gave it a population of 323, which it is claimed, has increased to about 500 during the past eight years. Located in the center of a fine farming district, there is no reason why the bor…
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 513Read the page →
Read the text

Fredonia was incorporated as a borough in August, 1876, and then commenced its official life. The census of 1880 gave it a population of 323, which it is claimed, has increased to about 500 during the past eight years. Located in the center of a fine farming district, there is no reason why the borough should not remain one of the flourishing little towns of the county.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Fredonia, 1870 to 1970

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Fredonia post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveFredonia, PA
  5. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1923In the archiveFredonia PA Presby PHS225
  7. 1933Born hereM. Richard Rose is born here
  8. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 731
By decade

Fredonia, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s4 items
Fredonia, PA1908Fredonia, PAScene on Mill Creek1908Scene on Mill CreekBelow Mineral Springs, Mill Creek1908Below Mineral Springs, Mill CreekFredonia PA Presby PHS2251923Fredonia PA Presby PHS225
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Fredonia, PA post office, June 20242024Fredonia, PA post office, June 2024Fredonia, PA park, June 20242024Fredonia, PA park, June 2024Fredonia, PA (2), June 20242024Fredonia, PA (2), June 2024Fredonia, PA (1), June 20242024Fredonia, PA (1), June 2024Main above Third2019Main above Third
Every building

Fredonia, building by building, 1911–1929

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Fredonia fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Fredonia, PA
Retake this viewFredonia, PA, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fredonia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fairview TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDelaware Township2 historic placesA−

Questions about Fredonia’s history

What year was Fredonia founded?

The Fredonia post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.