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Highlighting historic buildings and places where historic events took place on campus, here are Michigan's official registered historic sites around Albion College.




S0212
ALBION COLLEGE
Methodists obtained a charter for Spring Arbor Seminary from the Territorial Council of Michigan in March 1835. Later the institution was established in Albion on land donated by Jesse Crowell, a leading Albion pioneer and benefactor. In 1841 the cornerstone was laid for the first building, and in 1843 the institution opened as the Wesleyan Seminary. In 1861 the power to confer degrees was obtained and the school named Albion College. Support from the Methodist Church, a large endowment, and private sources have contributed to its growth as a strong liberal arts college.
Marker erected 1959



S0215
BIRTHPLACE OF "OLD RUGGED CROSS"
"The Old Rugged Cross," one of the world's best-loved hymns, was composed here in 1912 by the Reverend George Bennard (1873-1958). The son of an Ohio coal miner, Bennard was a lifelong servant of God, chiefly in the Methodist ministry. He wrote the words and music of over 300 other hymns. None achieved the fame of "The Old Rugged Cross," the moving summation of his faith.
"I'll cherish the Old Rugged Cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the Old Rugged Cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown."
Marker erected 1959



S0216
BIRTHPLACE OF FAMED SONG
It was in the spring of 1911 that two freshmen at Albion College, Byron D. Stokes and F. Dudleigh Vernor, wrote the words and music for a song they called "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi." The song made a hit with their fraternity brothers, and requests of copies came in from other chapters. Within a few years the melody and lyrics of "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" had become familiar to people around the world.
Marker erected 1959



S0566
THE OBSERVATORY
The Albion College Astronomical Observatory was built in 1883-1884 at the urging of Dr. Samuel Dickie, who later became president of the college. Dickie helped raise $10,000 to build and equip the facility. The observatory still harbors its original telescope, transit circle, sidereal clock and chronograph. The building has housed classrooms, a bookstore, faculty offices and the West Michigan Methodist Conference archives. In 1984 it was refurbished as the college Ethics Center.
Marker erected 1985