Albion College and the forks of the Kalamazoo

Albion grew up at the “forks of the Kalamazoo” — the spot where the north and south branches of the Kalamazoo River come together. It also grew up around a college that’s one of the oldest in Michigan. Albion College was chartered in 1835 by Methodist settlers and began as a seminary. It grew into the well-regarded liberal arts college it is today, home of the Britons.

The college has shaped the town for nearly two centuries, and Albion’s own story runs alongside it. This was a 19th-century mill-and-foundry town. It boomed when the Albion Malleable Iron Company arrived in the 1880s, drawing workers from across Europe and African Americans from the South. By local tradition, Albion even claims a hand in the origins of Mother’s Day. Today the college’s tree-lined campus and the historic downtown along the river are the heart of the city.

The college sits just east of downtown.