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 — and around a college that’s one of the oldest in Michigan. Albion College was chartered in 1835 by Methodist settlers, began as a seminary, and 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: a 19th-century mill-and-foundry town that 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; more is at albion.edu.