Fredonia
New York
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Village of Fredonia
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 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 Village of Fredonia was incorporated in 1829. SUNY Fredonia originally opened as Fredonia Academy in 1826. That building is now the Village Hall. The original name for the area was Canadaway (from the Indian word Ganadawao, meaning Among the hemlocks).
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.
The Village of Fredonia, incorporated in 1829, is one of only 11 chartered Villages in New York State. That means it has been granted the right to establish the laws by which it governs, rather than the proceeding under laws established by the state legislature.
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 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 Village of Fredonia was incorporated in 1829. SUNY Fredonia originally opened as Fredonia Academy in 1826. That building is now the Village Hall. The original name for the area was Canadaway (from the Indian word Ganadawao, meaning Among the hemlocks).
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.
The Village of Fredonia, incorporated in 1829, is one of only 11 chartered Villages in New York State. That means it has been granted the right to establish the laws by which it governs, rather than the proceeding under laws established by the state legislature.