Editing Fredonia, Kansas (section)

==History==
[[File:Fredonia, Kansas (1905).jpg|thumb|left|West side of town square, 1905]]
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
Fredonia was laid out in 1868 near a large hillock located along the [[St. Louis & San Francisco Railway]] in southeast Kansas.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_o8X5krq3fP8C | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_o8X5krq3fP8C/page/n681 685]}}</ref> It was named after [[Fredonia, New York]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n130 131]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ | title=Biennial Report of the Board of Directors of the Kansas State Historical Society | publisher=Kansas State Printing Plant | author=Kansas State Historical Society | year=1916 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ/page/n421 314]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xvk0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA882 | title=History of Neosho and Wilson Counties, Kansas | publisher=Monitor Printing Company | author=Duncan, L. Wallace | year=1902 | page=882}}</ref> The first building on the town site was a general store, erected in 1868, on the southwest corner of the town square, soon followed by a simple courthouse and hotel.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030305041653/http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/wilson/wilson-co-p2.html#FREDONIA kancoll.com]</ref>  The first post office was established in August 1868.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county:WL |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |access-date=20 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009125215/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county%3AWL |archive-date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref> The [[Gold Dust Hotel]] was completed in 1885.

It became a booming town with an emphasis on large industry.<ref name="newspapers.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/63435900/?terms=Fredonia |title=27 Mar 1904, Page 12 - The Topeka Daily Capital at |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=1904-03-27 |accessdate=2022-06-05}}</ref> In May 1913, a large vein of semi-[[anthracite|anthracite coal]] was discovered near the town.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/56941903 |title=29 May 1913, Page 1 - The Chanute Daily Tribune at |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=1913-05-29 |accessdate=2022-06-05}}</ref>  The coal that was found was “said to be of better quality than any other found in Kansas” at that time.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lafarge-na.com/wps/portal/na/en/1_8_2-Archive_NewsDetail?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connectlib_na/Site_na/AllPR_Archives/PressRelease_1320178916305/PR_Header|title=Lafarge Announces Plans to Close its Fredonia, KS Cement Plant|last=Lafarge North America Inc.|date=14 October 2011|publisher=Lafarge North America Inc.|access-date=22 July 2016}}</ref> The economy in Fredonia was again boosted by the [[Archer Daniels Midland Company]]. The plant was obtained in 1928 and operated as a soybean processing facility and supplied many jobs for the growing industrial town.<ref name="iatp.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.iatp.org/news/adm-to-close-fredonia-kansas-soy-processing-facility|title = ADM to Close Fredonia, Kansas Soy Processing Facility}}</ref> In March 2003 the plant announced it would close its Fredonia branch effective immediately.<ref name="iatp.org"/> At one time, Fredonia was a hub for oil and natural gas development.<ref name="newspapers.com"/>