Fredonia is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Mason County

Mason County, Texas

Mason County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 4, 012. Its county seat is Mason...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The community is located near the county line of Mason and San Saba

San Saba County, Texas

San Saba County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Western Central Texas. In 2010, its population was 6,131. Its county seat is San Saba. It is named for the San Saba River, which flows through the county.-History:...

 counties, where State Highway 71 intersects with Farm to Market Road 386. Although it is unincorporated, Fredonia has a post office, with the ZIP code of 76842.

Beginnings

Jack and Caroline Lathum and Chaney and Isabella Couch are the earliest known settlers to arrive near Deer Creek in San Saba County in the 1850s. The original school was named Hayes and Lathum School, but the residents petitioned the county to rename it Deer Creek school. This caused the community to be reorganized as Deer Creek, in order for the school to be renamed in 1878.

Post office

A conflict arose over the naming of the post office as Deerton. A different community named Deerton had been granted a post office on March 17, 1879, and Samuel Hayes was appointed as postmaster. In 1880, the settlers of Deer Creek moved two miles inside the Mason County line, and renamed their settlement Fredonia. William Kniveton was the first postmaster when Fredonia was granted a post office on March 20, 1880.

As Fredonia

Fredonia had a grist mill, a stage stop, and a coop store run by The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. A blacksmith shop, churches, and a community newspaper were established. The newspaper Kicker was bought out by the Mason County News in 1910. Fredonia received its first telephone line in 1914, and a gasoline filling station with the popularity of the automobile. The population has gradually declined as the small land holders sold out to larger ones.