The original lumber company started with a saw mill and turning mill in 1875. In 1880 a lumber yard and grain elevator were built on the site. The entrepreneurs were Charles F. Cooley and John Race. Charles Cooley's son, Robert L. Cooley became the director of all Vocational Schools in the united States. He was a world famous educator. E.P. Neuen's purchased the business is 1907. Neuen's Fredonia Lumber is the oldest company in Fredonia and when started Fredonia was knows as Fredonia Station to reflect the Chicago Northwestern Railroad going through what is now Fredonia.