[3] The city was founded in 1868, and saw considerable expansion in the early 20th century, with a fossil fuel boom.

Fredonia was laid out in 1868 near a large hillock located along the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway in southeast Kansas.

[11] 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.

[12] 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.

[13] In March 2003 the plant announced it would close its Fredonia branch effective immediately.

[13] At one time, Fredonia was a hub for oil and natural gas development.

[14] The area climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

[15] On July 18, 1936, Fredonia set the Kansas record high temperature of 121 °F.

[16] In late June and early July 2007, Fredonia was one of several communities in Southeast Kansas to experience record flooding.

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.

[citation needed] The 2020 United States census counted 2,151 people, 933 households, and 529 families in Fredonia.

37.4% of households consisted of individuals and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[35] The community is served by Fredonia USD 484 public school district.