Brief History of Albion
In 1833, Tenney Peabody acquired a piece of land at the forks of the Kalamazoo river
and with his family, became the first settlers in 1835. Mr. Peabody was joined by Jesse
Crowell, Issachor Frost, and D.L. Bacon in the grist mill business, named the Albion
Company. The name Albion came from Crowell's home town of Albion (Oswego Co, NY). Crowell
platted the village in 1836 and became its first postmaster in 1838.
Albion College, a small Methodist liberal arts college, was established in the early
1840s. Albion was incorporated as a city in 1885.
Albion Township was organized as a independent township in 1837. The first township
officers were James Sheldon (supervisor), William Farley (clerk), A.W. Walker (justice of
the peace), Clark Knowles (constable), L. B. Ring (pathmaster) and Cato Millington (school
commissioner).
