In the Middle Ages Reda was called Grężlewo but it also functioned as Granslaw (1358), Granissow or Granslow (1398). The name Redau appeared in 1400 and Rede -1433. The present name Reda (German - Rheda) dates back to 1500 and comes from the name of the river which it lies on.

The primitive settlers' life is hard to reconstruct because of the insufficient number of methodically examined archaeological stands and scanty written sources. The existing sources coming from a prehistoric burial ground allow to depict some spiritual life of the early inhabitants of this territory. As for material culture, it is much worse.

The first traces of human activity in the area of Reda come from the late Palaeolithic era (IX BC). The archaeological excavations resulted in finding some objects for tooling horns, bones and leather (arch. stand no 7 and 8). Besides, a few flint implements from the Mesolithic and the Neolithic period were also found.

Larger groups of people reached the area only about 6400 BC (on the turn of the boreal period). Some finds date back to the early iron age. They come from the numerous box graves discovered high on a hill near the present railway station. Unfortunately, within the XIXth and the XXth century the precious hill was almost completely destroyed and its sources served the local brickyard and the prefabricated element factory. Another result of the excavations was the crematory grave coming from the pre-roman period but there were some other settlements confirmed which date back to the early medieval era.

In course of time different ethnic groups mixed and were influenced by other neighbouring peoples. Finally, in the bronze age (1200-550 BC) they joined the huge territory o f the Lusatian culture. Its tribes occupied the land between the Bug river and the Łaba river, that is the territory of the subsequent West-Slavonic tribes. Now they are considered to be the early Slavs. They took up agriculture and breeding animals. The dead were buried in barrow graves. The Pomeranian tribes, influenced by the Nordic culture, as far as metal works are concerned, formed a separate group called the Kashubian group of the Lusatian culture, which gave birth to the east-Pomeranian culture at the beginning of the iron age (650 BC-1250 AD). Peoples of this culture burnt the dead with the objects of everyday use and put the burnt bones into the cinerary urns. A neck of an urn was often decorated with pictures of human faces, drawings of animals, bodkins and breast-plates. The urns with women's bones were often given some attributes belonging to a particular woman such her earrings or necklaces made of glass or amber. The cinerary urns were put to the family graves of the shape of boxes made of huge slabs. Ali the people lived in tribes of patriarchal character. Each tribe constituted a separate unity working on its own. The grew barley, wheat, rye, millet and pea-plant, raised cattie, took up hunting and made beautiful, subtly decorated objects of bronze.

After the Venetian culture in the second half of the Xth century the region of Reda belonged to the East Pomerania. It was the time of intensive burning and cutting down forests for some economic reasons. Thus a concentration of open settlements appeared within the area of Ciechocino-Pieleszewo-Reda. The land belonged to yeomen though the Church often took over some of their possessions or at least collected tithe. In case of Pieleszewo, Reda and Ciechocino, however, they belonged to the ruler. A Governor, undoubtfully a nobleman, was appointed to rule East Pomerania on behalf of Mieszko l, then of King Bolesław Chrobry and the successive Polish kings. In 1309, after the Teutonic Order had invaded and appropriated Gdańsk Pomerania, the area discussed above belonged to the Commander of the Order. Reda and Ciechocino had to send two people in arms each to serve in the Commander's army. These forces were sent to the border between P o land and Lithuania when a conflict emerged or took part in a campaign against the Samogitians in 1402-1405.

The first piece of information about Reda based on authority from 1357 says about giving almost 60 hectares of the land to Jan Straszyn. Then the inhabitants of the village were given the right to float timber down the Reda river. It had served as a major trade route for ages thus no dam could have been bulli on it. However, a smithy and a mill had worked on its bank since 1340. Records from 1430 say about an inn and a wooden church dating back to the Xllth century. The latter got burnt 300 years ago but soon it was reconstructed and existed till the end of the XIXth century. In 1930 a new Neogothic shrine was built and the old one was taken to pieces.

Going back to the history of the region, another important event was the 13-year war which started in 1454. In those days the area was pawned to cover the war expenses of the city of Gdańsk to which it now belonged. The pawnbroker was the king of Sweden Charles Knudson who fled from his country. In 1460, however, the Teutonic Knights drove him away and governed the land for 4 years. The successive possessors of this region were the authorities of Gdańsk - till 1468 - and finally the authorities of Poland.

In the time of Nobleman's Republic (1466-1772) the starosty of Puck, where the area of Reda belonged, was given by the king first to the starost of Puck, Otto Machwic (1471-1477) and then to the starosts: Fabian Mgowski (1477-1483), Mikołaj Wulkowski (1485-1489) and Otton Śmiełowski (1490). Those were the days of peace and economic growth. Later, the starosty changed hands a few limes. During "the Swedish flood" (1655-1660) the starosty of Puck was governed by the authorities of Gdańsk again. They were granted the land by King Jan Kazimierz in return for the promise to hold the starosty and wielded power for 22 years.

The peasants' fate in the XVIIth century did not improve. The starosts freely increased the villein service, laid peasants under new tributes over and over again and sometimes even expropriated some landholders who now became yeomen. Peasants, however, tried to change their situation by disobedience or by sending complaints to the king. Once, i n 1633, when peasants declared themselves against the starost of Działoszyn who wanted them to work more, the case came to the king's ears and was In progress for years. The royal committee gathered twice to reach a consensus. Those who delayed signing an agreement were the yillage administrator of Ciechocino - Jan Kurosza and the alderman of Reda - Benedykt Tusk. The case resulted in limiting villein ser vice.

The battles of Pomerania did not spare Reda. The town suffered most during the 13-year war and ‘the Swedish flood'. The Swedish king Gustavus Adolf, called "the robber of Europe', was exceptionally merciless towards the noblemen's estates and yeomen's crafts. He plundered the seaside systematically. Once he and his army robbed about 2000 sheep and several hundred head of cattle.

The Swedish invaders were not the only ones who threatened Pomerania. In the years 1627-1628 the Polish colonel Jan Lanckoronski with his unit used to requisition the villagers' belongings. Ciechocino, Reda and Pieleszewo complained of his deeds to the inspectors but they couldn't help the increasing poverty of the villagers. After "the Swedish flood" there were only three landholders left out of ten before the war. The results of inspection in 1658 show that in Reda only one landholder survived and three estates were abandoned.

The inspection of the starosty of Puck in 1678 throws light on living conditions. "The yillage of Reda is 336 hectares large. The yillage church owns 67 hectares. The village administrator, Szymon Bierzk, and the landholder, Marcin Zela, have 50 hectares each but the land is mostly covered with a growth of weeds (...)". The further part of the report enumerates a black smith, a wheeler, an innholder, all the landholders and yeomen, etc. with their belongings but also gives details of their villein service, the rent they had to pay and their families.

The most privileged person in a village was a village administrator. His office was hereditary. The pay depended on now big the village was and came up to 10% of the village ground. The administrator’s duty was to make the villagers familiar with the lord's rules, maintain order, judge minor cases and see to the villein service and regular tribute and taxes for the benefit of a manor-house. In 1635 King Władysław IV gave the administrator of Reda, Szymon Borsch, a yillage charter. Life of the yillage was regulated by "a yillage law" passed by its owner. The starosty of Puck received such a law from the starost Ignacy Przebendowski in 1767. The administrator with aldermen supervised order within the village (e.g. they walked round and checked provision against Twe). In front of administrator’s craft there was a pillory with chains fir punishing the disobedient. The yillage law ordered to show respect towards the administrator and manor officials. The villagers couldn't swear, play cards and dice for money in the village inn. They were also obliged to restrained celebrations of weddings, baptism and funerals. They were to take part in Sunday masses and services, make their children and servants go to church and baptise new-born babies. It was forbidden either to put up witches, fortune-tellers and tramps or trade with the Jews. Corn and other crops could be sold by the villagers on the market place oniy under the condition that the manor would not need them. The yillage law was read out by the administrator at least once a year at the yillage gathering to prevent peasants' excuses that they did not know the rules.

In 1768 the smithy owner in Reda, Ernest Konopacki, got a permission confirmed by the king to build a factory of brass goods. At that time Reda had 74 inhabitants. As a consequence of the first partition of Polana (1772) Reda changed hands again. For the next 150 years it belonged to the Prussian monarchy. The significant development of Reda started when beaten tracks connected Gdańsk with Lębork and Puck. In 1869 there were 55 households and 692 inhabitants. 629 of them were Catholics, 63 - Protestants. In 1872, after the railway line had been built in 1870, Reda had 763 inhabitants. In 1885 - 79 households and 794 people (691 Catholics, 90 Protestants, 2 Jews and 1 dissenter). The Catholics were the Poles, that is the Kashubian. The Protestants were ma/n/y the people of German origin. However, the language did not always determine denomination.

Before 1888 a two-class school had already existed. 150 children were taught by two teachers. On 10 February 1920 the Polish army entered Reda and the neighbouring yillages. The Poles took over the municipal administration. First, they found the Prussian law of 1891 very useful and sufficient to governed the region. Making only a few changes, they enforced it until 1933 when the new act about the local administration was passed. It brought a new, homogeneous division of the territory to districts with administrators and parishes governed by chief officers, superior to administrators.

The proceeding inflation of Polish currency and the decreasing living standards in 1921-1924 (lack of food, clothes, coal, paraffin- oil, etc.) caused the Polish workers' discontent. H resulted in mass strikes and people's demonstrations in Wejherowo, Puck, Gdynia, Zagórze and Reda in 1921. Then in October 1923 the strikes broke out in a timber-yard in Reda, Gościno, Zagórze. They were followed by another wave o1 strikes next year. Ali of them were organised by the Polish Trade Union. The situation improved when the coastal town of Gdynia started to deyelop quickly. A great many building workers lived in nearby Reda, so this yillage developed, too. In 1924 there were 1000 inhabitants, two-class school, the railway station, the post-office, the mill, the smithy, the brick-yard, the "White Eagle" Hotel, the library and a few shops. In 1934-35 the transit trach connecting Gdańsk and Koszalin was modernised. It got the new road-metal surface and the stretch between Rumia and Lębork was bituminous.

On 9 September 1939 Reda was invaded by the Germans. The occupation was a gloomy period. Things went from bad to worse. The Poles and the Germans had widely different working conditions and unequal wages. At the end of 1939 meat, milk and lat were on points. Next year some other articles like sugar or marmalade were added to the list which was getting longer. The most troublesome. however, was the lack of coal in people's houses. The Germans killed a huge number of Polish citizens. During the occupation they murdered: Augustyn Wyszecki, Alfons Wyszecki, Franciszek Rabca, Stanisław Rygulski. Andrzej Mikulski, Jan Grzywacz. Antoni Talaśka, Eugeniusz Talaśka, Franciszek Talaśka, Józef Czerwiński, Jan Stefanowski i Władysław Klebba. Between 1939-1945 many other inhabitanfs of FSeda were killed: Jan Bach. Stefan Henig, Klemens Hirsz. Józef Krampa, Paweł Bisha, Edmund Rosinke, Leon Bach. Stefan Rewa, Jan Reesmann, Franciszek Miszewski. Jan Erlich, Leon Waldowski, Stefan Doppke, Leon Kass. Jan Płomin, Leon Kuchnowski, Alojzy Dorsch, Franciszek Krukowski, Jan Miotke, Jan Dosz, Stefan Ruchniewicz, Franciszek Gloza, Alojzy Haaze, Florian Haaze, Józef Lenc, Władysław Nikrandt, Paweł Nagel, Jan Schroder, Teodor Szymariski, Antoni Bażowski, Józef Flinc, Bolesław Wieki, Franciszek Kankowski, Jan Kier-znikiewicz, Monika Kierznikiewicz, Alojzy Lehmann, Paweł Lehmann, Stefan Bach. Edmund Bach, Franciszek Dosz, Paweł Klein, Hubert Bach, Alojzy Pionk, Leon Szwaba, Stefan Walder, Brunon Konkol i Leon Grzenia. Tnę military offensive in January 1945 resulted in breaking the German defence on the Vistula River and the bridge-head on the Odra River was captured. It was necessary to smash the "Weichsel" (Vistula) army in the north and take the coast and the Pomerania Bay. At the end o1 February the army of the 1st and the 2nd White Russian front broke the German defence. They reached the Baltic Sea dividing the "Weichsel" army in two parts. The 2nd White Russian front, that is 45 units including Polish 1st Armoured Brigade by "Heroes of Westerplatte", was to smash the German units and seize Gdańsk Pomerania. Reda was part of the system of German defence stretching from Reda to Pruszcz Gdański. The system consisted of 3 other defence systems joined together that is the region of Oksywie, of Gdynia and of Gdańsk. Its front edge constituted the defence line of Rewa, Reda, Gniewowo, Zbychowo, Koleczkowo, Żukowo, Kolduby Dolne, Pruszcz Gdański up to the mouth of the Vistula. On 11 March one Polish brigade (2nd battalion of tanks and a battalion of infantry), some Russian units of 101 division of infantry and two armoured brigades took part in a battle of Wejherowo. Next day the town was free. Polish tanks set off in pursuit of the German army running away towards Reda. Although the town was a strong German defence point, the tanks easily broke the defence and dislodged the Germans from Reda. The village was free on 12 March 1945.

The liberation opened a new chapter in the ń/story of Reda. Between 1945-54 the yillages of Reda, Pieleszewo and Ciechocino belonged to a parish of Wejherowo. The first village administrator of Reda was Mr. Denc, of Ciechocino - Józef Kreft. On 1 January 1955 People's District CounciI was appointed in Reda. It supervised Ciechocino, Pieleszewo and a Stale Farm in Kąpino. Reda became a town on 1 January 1967. The first chairman of People's District CounciI then People's Town CounciI in Reda was Alfons Wesołka, who fulfilled his duty until 1969.

After the war a few big factories were built, such as the Co-operative Rubber Plant, the Factory of Building Units, the Poultry-Hatching Enterprise, many cooperative and private plants and service workshops. The Co-operative Rubber Plant by Marian Buczek was buill in 1948 and was first called the Co-op "Vulcanization" with its seat in Gdynia. Only in 1962 the headquarters moved to Reda. The Factory of Building Units originated from a private company set up in 1908. It produced silica bricks. In 1948 the company changed the name to the State Gravel-Pit, Concrete-Mixing Plant and Brick-Yard. Between 1949-51 it was modernised and adjusted to gas concrete production. The plant also worked out new production technologies experimenting on slag, gravel and smoke dust. A new name - the Factory of Building Units - was given in 1953 and on 1 January 1965 it was changed to Reda Factory o1 Building Units. The current name is Prefabet Reda Enterprise. In the years 1962-1964 it was modernised and became the most modern plant of cellular concrete m Poland. Building unit production is still increasing an d now amounts to 130 000 square metres.

Soon after the end of the 2nd World War the health service centre was founded in Reda. As far as the railway lines are concerned, in 1949 the Chylonia-Reda track and in 1957 the Reda-Wejherowo track were built. Now they are also adapted to electric train traffic and the full electrification was finished on 31 December 1957. In 1972 an additional Reda Pieleszewo railway halt was built, partły due to community work of the inhabitants of Reda.

ln 1974-75 some other wise investments were made: a municipal cemetery, a new Gdynia-Reda track, a bridge and a junction of roads to Puck and Wejherowo, a viaduct under the railway linę and two roads to Wejherowo. In 1975 there were already two primary schools and the College of Agriculture (now the College of Handicraft). Then a departament store and a "Jubilatka" restaurant were built.

Housing has developed quickly in Reda since the 60s in spite of the overall regression of housing in Poland. There are many houses and blocks of flats here. The population of the town is now 14 500 people (in1968-5400 people, in 1982-6091 people). Reda has got lots of building ground for housing, industrial building, etc. A great many large-scale investments have already been started. There is a Municipal Library, a Community Centre and a Leisute Centre. Unfortunately, for the time being building of a swimming-pool must have been stopped for lack of money.