Fredonia is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,482. The town was founded in 1868, and saw considerable expansion in the early 20th century, with a fossil fuel boom.HistoryFredonia was laid out in 1868. It is named after Fredonia, New York. The first post office in Fredonia was established in August 1868.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. With this discovery, it had the possibility of bringing in large amounts of money for the Wilson county area. A cement plant opened in Fredonia in 1907, supplying jobs to the community for more than 100 years, before it was closed in 2012. The economy in Fredonia was again boosted by the Archer Daniels Midland Company. The plant, which was obtained in 1928, 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. Fredonia was a hub for oil development, a natural gas source, and had many railroad stations to import and export goods from the town. A large portion of the jobs in the town involved working at these plants which caused Fredonia to be greatly affected by their removal.Fredonia was one of several Southeast Kansas communities to fall victim to severe flooding in late June and early July 2007. At least 10 inches of rainfall was recorded on the night of June 29 and additional rainfall was expected through 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.
