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BHistory
History · Albion Township

Albion Township dates to 1835, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1850.

1835founded
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Albion Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Albion Township began

When was Albion Township founded?

1835

Albion Township dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 881 in 18502020 census: 1,094191 years

How historic is Albion Township?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1842.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Albion Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albion Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albion Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.4% of homes (±6.1) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Albion Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Albion Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 12,749 in 1960; 7,700 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Albion Township.Old housesHalf of Albion Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · People over time

Albion Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001850190019502000Peak: 12,749

Peaked at 12,749 in 1960; 7,700 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Albion Township’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Albion Township, 1835 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingAlbion Township is established
  3. 1842Post officeThe South Albion post office opens
  4. 1855Post officeThe South Albion post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905In the archiveAlbion MI Dec 26 1905
  7. 1915In the archiveAlbion, Mich
  8. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 12,749
The story

How Albion Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Albion Township.

Read it all →

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, platted 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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Albion Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s5 items
Albion MI Dec 26 19051905Albion MI Dec 26 1905Albion, Mich1915Albion, MichAlbion, Mich1915Albion, MichIndustries of War - Barbed Wire - WEAVING WIRE FOR ARMY. Automatic crimping machines. Union Steel Products Co., Albino,…1917Industries of War - Barbed Wire - WEAVING WIRE FOR AR…Industries of War - Barbed Wire - WEAVING WIRE FOR ARMY. One room of Union Steel Products Co., Albino, Michigan. All we…1917Industries of War - Barbed Wire - WEAVING WIRE FOR AR…
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today18 recent
Honors Sunny2024Honors SunnyHonors Plaque2024Honors PlaqueHonors Front door2024Honors Front doorSt. John the Evangelist-Albion2021St. John the Evangelist-AlbionThe First Home2019The First HomeHoly Ascension Church2018Holy Ascension ChurchGale Manufacturing2018Gale ManufacturingAlbion Senior High2018Albion Senior HighSmith-Gillespie House2016Smith-Gillespie HouseRiverside Cemetery2016Riverside CemeteryOrlando Gale House2016Orlando Gale HouseOld Rugged Cross sign2016Old Rugged Cross signMothers Day sign2016Mothers Day signFirst Presbyterian Church2016First Presbyterian ChurchEugene Robertson House2014Eugene Robertson HouseGreetings from Albion, Michigan - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Albion, Michigan - Large Letter Postca…DocumentAlbion Grain and Feed Producers2011Albion Grain and Feed ProducersSuperior Street Commercial Historic District2010Superior Street Commercial Historic District
On the map

Albion Township on the map, 1948 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Albion Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Albion Township on the 1948 USGS mapAlbion Township on the 1980 USGS mapAlbion Township on the 1995 USGS map1948Homer sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Albion Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Albion MI Dec 26 1905
Retake this viewAlbion MI Dec 26 1905, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Albion Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, South Albion, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BabcockCondit
Gone or out of use
Midway Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Albion Township
Albion Memory GardensBryant - KetchumBryantSouth Albion

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Albion Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAlbion MI Dec 26 1905: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Albion2 historic placesA+Eckford TownshipIts storyB+Homer Township2 historic placesA+Sheridan TownshipIts storyC+Concord Township3 historic placesA+

Questions about Albion Township’s history

What year was Albion Township founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Albion Township’s post office opened in 1842, and the census of 1850 counted 881 people here.

How does Albion Township rank for history?

Albion Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Albion Township?

19% of Albion Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1960.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (22), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.