Explore Fredonia’s history through the places where it happened.
The Bicentennial Walking Tour highlights campus and village locations connected to 200 years of higher education in Fredonia, from the opening of Fredonia Academy in 1826 to the development of the modern SUNY Fredonia campus. Each stop offers a short story about the people, buildings, traditions and moments that helped shape the university we know today.
Much of the research behind this tour was completed by students in Nancy Hagedorn’s HIST 302 class. As part of a group digital project, students explored campus history from the perspective of current Fredonians, selecting topics tied to specific locations and creating ArcGIS StoryMaps based on their research.
Students spent the semester working in Reed Library’s Special Collections & Archives, using historical documents, photographs and other materials to piece together stories from Fredonia’s past. Their work helped bring forward both well-known milestones and more niche aspects of campus culture, student life and community connection.
Student contributors included Madeline DeJoy, Connor Evans, Rebekah Gerace, Connor Heidel, Julian Kemp, Sean Lux, Alex McBeth, Riley O’Donnell, Tori Silsby, Elizabeth Mary Stone, Victor Tolentino and Grace Zimmerman.
Get yourself to the Williams Center, the first stop on the tour, then start the tour below to walk through Fredonia’s story, one stop at a time.