Albion is a city in
Calhoun County in the south central region of the
Lower Peninsula of the
U.S. state of
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The population was 7,700 at the
2020 census. Albion is part of the
Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The earliest English-speaking settlers also called this area ''The Forks'', because it is at the confluence of the north and south branches of the
Kalamazoo River. In the early 20th century, immigrants came to Albion from various eastern European nations, including the current
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. More recently, Latino immigrants have come from Mexico and Central America. The ''Festival of the Forks'' has been held annually since 1967 to celebrate Albion's diverse ethnic heritage.
Since the 19th century, several major manufacturers were established in Albion, which became known as a factory town. This changed after several manufacturers closed. In the 21st century, Albion's culture is changing to that of a college town whose residents have a strong interest in technology and sustainability.
Albion College is a private liberal arts college with a student population of about 1,250. Albion is a
sister city with
Noisy-le-Roi, France.
History
The first European-American settler, Tenney Peabody, arrived in 1833 along with his brother-in-law, Charles Blanchard, and another young man, Clark Dowling. Peabody's family followed soon after. In 1835, the Albion Company, a land development company formed by
Jesse Crowell,
plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted a village. Peabody's wife was asked to name the settlement. She considered the name "Peabodyville", but selected "Albion" instead, after the former residence of Jesse Crowell. Crowell was appointed in 1838 as the first US postmaster there.
Many early settlers migrated to Albion from western New York and New England, part of a movement after the construction of the Erie Canal and the opening of new lands in Michigan and other Great Lakes territories. They first developed agriculture and it became a rural trading village. Settlers were strong supporters of education and in 1835,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
s established
Albion College affiliated with their church. Its first classes were held in 1843. The college was known by a few other names before 1861. At that time it was fully authorized to confer four-year degrees on both men and women.
Albion incorporated as a village in 1855, following construction of the railroad here in 1852, which stimulated development. It became a city in 1885.
Mills were constructed to operate on the water power of the forks of the Kalamazoo River. They were the first industry in the town, used to process lumber, grain, and other products to build the village. Albion quickly became a mill town as well as an agricultural market. The river that powered industry also flooded the town.
In the Great Flood of 1908, there was severe property damage. In February, several feet of snow fell across the region. Heavy rains and warmer conditions in early March created water saturation in the ground and risk of flooding because of the rivers' high flow. After the Homer Dam broke around 3 p.m. on March 7, the
Kalamazoo River flooded Albion. By midnight, the bridges surrounding town were underwater. Six buildings in Albion collapsed, resulting in more than $125,000 in damage (1908 dollars).
[Willard Library]
Photographs from Battle Creek History.
Retrieved on 2007-05-06. The town struggled to recover.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous Lithuanian and other Eastern European immigrants settled there, most working for the Albion Malleable Iron Company, and some in the coal mine north of town. The iron company initially made agricultural implements, but around World War I shifted to making automotive parts. The Malleable merged in 1969 with the Hayes Corporation, becoming the Hayes-Albion Corporation. Now known as a division of Harvard Industries, the company continues to produce automotive castings in Albion. Molder Statue Park downtown is dedicated to the many molders who dealt with molten iron.
There were soon enough Lithuanians in town to establish Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, which they built in 1916. It is part of the
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In ...
. Today its services are in English.
Albion's population peaked in 1960. In 1973 Albion was named an
All-America City by the
National Civic League. It celebrated the award on May 15, 1974, when Michigan Governor
William Milliken and many other dignitaries came to town. In 1975 the closure of a major factory began a difficult period of industrial restructuring and decline in jobs and population.
Since that time citizens have mobilized, founding the Albion Community Foundation in 1968. They formed the Albion Volunteer Service Organization in the 1980s, with support from Albion College, to address the challenge of diminishing economic opportunity.
Key to the City Honor Bestowed:
*1964:
Aunt Jemima visited Albion on January 25.
*1960s: Columnist
Ann Landers was presented with a key upon her visit to Starr Commonwealth for Boys.
Law and government
Albion has a
council-manager government. City residents elect a mayor
at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
and City Council members from each of six
single-member districts. The council in turn selects a city manager to handle the city's day-to-day affairs. The mayor presides over and is a voting member of the council. Council members are elected to four-year terms, staggered every two years. A mayor is elected every two years. The city levies an income tax of 1% on residents and 0.5% on nonresidents.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
Albion is 42.24 degrees north of the equator and 84.75 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Climate
Demographics
2010 population by gender/age
2010 population by ethnicity
2010 population by race
Transportation
Major highways
*
*
*
*
Rail
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
provides daily service to Albion, operating its
Wolverine
The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
both directions between
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...
, via
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
.
Bus
Greyhound Lines provides daily intercity city bus service to Albion between Chicago and Detroit.
Notable people
*
Kim Cascone, musician, composer, owner of Silent Records; born in Albion
*
M. F. K. Fisher, food writer, born in Albion
*
Ada Iddings Gale, author, lived and buried in Albion
*
Helen Rose Hull, author and university professor, was born in Albion. Her 1932 book ''Heat Lightning'' concerns a family that owns agricultural implement and automotive parts factories in a small town during the 1930s.
*
Frank Joranko, football player and coach for
Albion College
*
LaVall Jordan, head men's basketball coach for
Butler University
Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
, born in Albion
*
Martin Wells Knapp,
American Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
evangelist who founded the
Pilgrim Holiness Church and
God's Bible School and College, born in Albion.
*
Bill Laswell, jazz bassist, record producer and record label owner; raised in Albion
*
Jerome D. Mack, banker, director of Las Vegas hotels
Riviera and
Dunes, founder of
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...
; born in Albion
*
Deacon McGuire, professional baseball player for 26 seasons, lived in Albion
*
Gary Lee Nelson, composer, pioneer in electronic and computer music; grew up in Albion
*
John Sinclair, poet and political activist, attended Albion College
*
Jon Scieszka, children's author, attended Albion College
*
Brian Tyler, racing driver, born in Albion
*
Jack Vaughn, Assistant Secretary of State, Ambassador to Panama and Colombia, and Director of the Peace Corps (1966–1969); grew up in Albion
*
The War and Treaty, musical duo
See also
*
Holy Ascension Orthodox Church
References
External links
City of Albion official websiteAlbion City Information Page
Albion District LibraryAlbion Michigan Home PageFestival of the Forks – Albion's annual music and food festival by the forks of the Kalamazoo RiverThe Greater Albion Chamber of CommerceAlbion Michigan Community Foundation – For Good. For Ever.
{{Authority control
Cities in Calhoun County, Michigan
Populated places established in 1835
1835 establishments in Michigan Territory