Fredonia

Community in Pomfret township, Chautauqua County, southwest New York; population (1990) 10,400. It is situated on Canadaway Creek, 8 km/5 mi east of Lake Erie and to the south of Dunkirk. The community's economy depends primarily on the cultivation of Concord grapes in the surrounding area. Light manufacturing, the production of wine, and the processing of foods are important. Fredonia is home to the State University of New York College at Fredonia (1866).

Settled in 1804, it became, in 1821, the first US community to employ natural gas for illumination. The name Fredonia (‘place of freedom’) was originally proposed for the Union. The first chapter of the National Grange, a fraternity of farmers, was established here in 1868, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union was founded here in 1873.