Fredonia was laid out in 1886. Its name is said to mean the "land of free women." The town suffered economically from the re-routing of U.S. 89 in 1960. While the highway previously went through Fredonia, it was re-routed north of the Glen Canyon dam, and the town lost several businesses due to a drop in traffic. Senator Barry Goldwater gave the commencement at Fredonia High School in 1964. Kaibab Forest Products was the major industry in town until 1995, when it closed and laid off 200 workers. It had employed up to 400 workers in 1988. There was also a nearby uranium mine.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,036 people, 359 households, and 287 families residing in the town. The population density was 139.7 people per square mile. There were 455 housing units at an average density of 61.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 85.7% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 11.4% Native American, 0.4% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 1.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 359 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were married couplesliving together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.25. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 32.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,288, and the median income for a family was $30,913. Males had a median income of $24,904 versus $19,554 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,309. About 12.3% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Geography and climate
Fredonia is located at , at in elevation. It is in the Arizona Strip, the portion of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River, and is within a few miles of the Utah border. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, all of it land. Fredonia is also located within a short distance of other national parks, national monuments, state parks, and scenic outdoor recreation spots.
