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B+History
History · Albion

Albion dates to 1797, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1870.

1797founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Albion began

When was Albion founded?

1797

Albion dates its founding to 1797 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 452 in 18702020 census: 1,528229 years

How historic is Albion?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1845.
History grade

What drives Albion’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albion is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albion’s overall grade.
Founding era1797, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194033.8% of homes (±8.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Albion’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania 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 1797.
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 (±8.0 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’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Albion are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1990. Watch Albion change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1797: 229 years of Albion.Old housesHalf of Albion’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Albion’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Albion’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Albion on the map, 1900 to 1990

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

Albion on the 1900 USGS mapAlbion on the 1959 USGS mapAlbion on the 1969 USGS mapAlbion on the 1990 USGS map1900Girard 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.

Timeline

Albion, 1797 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797
    FoundingAlbion is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1842Born hereSamuel Myron Brainerd is born here
  5. 1845Post officeThe Albion post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1933Born hereWalter Dobrogosz is born here
The story so far

Albion, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Albion yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Albion is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Albion had a population of 1,528. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. One of their main industries is the Albion State Correctional Institute (SCI Albion). The town was ravaged by an F4 tornado that was part of the 1985 United States-Canada tornado outbreak on May 31, 1985.

Albion was established in 1797. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,516 in 2010, 1,528 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Albion, 1884–1896

Passages that mention Albion, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The village of Albion Depot is on the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, twentysix miles from Erie City, and about a mile west from Albion Borough. It embraces, besides the depot building, a grocery and twelve or fifteen houses, most of which are occupied by employes of the railroad. Keepville consists of…
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 764Read the page →
Read the text

The village of Albion Depot is on the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, twentysix miles from Erie City, and about a mile west from Albion Borough. It embraces, besides the depot building, a grocery and twelve or fifteen houses, most of which are occupied by employes of the railroad. Keepville consists of a post ofSce, store, Methodist Episcopal Church, schoolhouse, cheese factory, shingle mill, and several residences, at the intersection of two roads, near Conneaut Creek, two and a half miles southwest of Albion Borough. It waa named after Marsena Keep, Sr., who settled there in 1803. Keepville Wes-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Lyman Jackson taught the first school. The town was long known as Jackson's Cross Roads, and the postoffice name has been successively Jacksonville, Juliet and Albion. It is one mile from Albion to Cranesville and Wellsburg (the three ])laces forming the points of an equilateral triangle), six to E…
Nelson's biographical dictionary and historical reference book of Erie County, Pennsylvania1896 · page 287Read the page →
Read the text

Lyman Jackson taught the first school. The town was long known as Jackson's Cross Roads, and the postoffice name has been successively Jacksonville, Juliet and Albion. It is one mile from Albion to Cranesville and Wellsburg (the three ])laces forming the points of an equilateral triangle), six to East Springfield, eight to Girard, six to Spring and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The main thoroughfares are the road from Albion, through Wellsburg, to Edinboro; the old road from Girard, through Cranesville and Wellsburg, to Meadville; and the Crane road, from Albion, through Cranesville and Franklin Township, to the Edinboro Plank Eoad. A hack runs several times a day, each d…
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 771Read the page →
Read the text

The main thoroughfares are the road from Albion, through Wellsburg, to Edinboro; the old road from Girard, through Cranesville and Wellsburg, to Meadville; and the Crane road, from Albion, through Cranesville and Franklin Township, to the Edinboro Plank Eoad. A hack runs several times a day, each direction, between Wellsburg, Cranesville and Albion Station, carrying passengers and the mails. Elk Creek has no large streams, the most important one being the East Branch of Conneaut Creek, which falls into the latter about half a mile west of Albion. The East Branch rises in Crawford County, just

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Albion Depot (Wannetta P. O.) is on the Erie and Pittsburg R. R., twenty-six miles from Erie city, and about a mile west from Albion borough. It embraces, besides the depot building, a grocery and twelve or fifteen houses, most of which are occupied by employes of the railroad.
Nelson's biographical dictionary and historical reference book of Erie County, Pennsylvania1896 · page 286Read the page →
Read the text

Albion Depot (Wannetta P. O.) is on the Erie and Pittsburg R. R., twenty-six miles from Erie city, and about a mile west from Albion borough. It embraces, besides the depot building, a grocery and twelve or fifteen houses, most of which are occupied by employes of the railroad.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Albion, decade by decade

Today12 recent
US 6N eb in Albion, PA, June 20242024US 6N eb in Albion, PA, June 2024Pennsylvania State Route 182014Pennsylvania State Route 18Pennsylvania State Route 182014Pennsylvania State Route 18Pennsylvania State Route 182014Pennsylvania State Route 18Pennsylvania State Route 182014Pennsylvania State Route 18Albion, Pennsylvania2014Albion, PennsylvaniaAlbion, Pennsylvania2014Albion, PennsylvaniaAlbion, Pennsylvania2014Albion, PennsylvaniaAlbion, Pennsylvania2014Albion, PennsylvaniaAlbion, Pennsylvania2014Albion, PennsylvaniaAlbion PA Presby Ch. PHS042014Albion PA Presby Ch. PHS04Albion Pa2011Albion Pa
Every building

Albion, building by building, 1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Albion fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Albion, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,818

Between 366 and 1,818 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Albion

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
S
Samuel Myron BrainerdAmerican politician · b. 1842
W
Walter DobrogoszAmerican microbiologist · b. 1933

Questions about Albion’s history

What year was Albion founded?

In 1797, according to Wikidata. Albion’s post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1870 counted 452 people here.

How does Albion rank for history?

Albion is more historic than 72% 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?

34% of Albion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (12), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.