Albion College Historical Timeline
1833, Spring
Rev. Henry Colclazer, Dr. Benjamin H. Packard, and Rev. Elijah H. Pilcher consult on the establishment of a Methodist institution of higher learning.
1835, March 23
Charter Day
Charter for the Wesleyan Seminary at Spring Arbor is signed into law.
1839, April 12
Legislative amendment moves the location of Wesleyan Seminary from then what was Spring Arbor to Albion.
1841, July 6
Cornerstone is laid for Central Building.
1842
Bell House is built.
1842, October 27
First students are welcomed to Wesleyan Seminary.
1844, January
Central Building opens for first classes.
1845
Charles Franklin Stockwell, first principal of the Seminary, resigns.
1846, Fall
Rev. Clark T. Hinman becomes principal of the Seminary.
1850, February 18
Public Law 28 to enlarge Wesleyan Seminary to include a Female Collegiate Institute is approved.
1852
North Hall is completed.
1853
Rev. Clark T. Hinman resigns as principal.
1853
Dr. Ira Mayhew becomes principal.
1854, January
North Hall burns down from a wood stove fire & is rebuilt from insurance settlement.
1853, Novemember
Ira Mayhew is elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Michigan.
1854, January
Norman Abbott, Professor of Mathematics, becomes acting principal.
1854, Fall
Rev. Dr. Thomas Henry Sinex becomes principal.
1857
Female Collegiate Institute is renamed the Albion Female College; Building of South Hall begins.
1858
Building of South Hall is halted when funding runs out.
1861, February 25
Founders Day
Amendment to the charter is approved, changing the Seminary to Albion College; Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Sinex becomes first president of Albion College.
1864, June
Rev. Dr. T.H. Sinex resigns as president.
1864, Fall
Rev. Dr. George B. Jocelyn becomes the second president of Albion College.
1868, April
First edition of the student newspaper, the College Standard comes out.
1869, February 17
Rev. Dr. Jocelyn resigns as president, effective June 17, 1869.
1869, June
Professor Charles W. Bennett is elected president and professor of mental and moral philosophy.
1869, August 12
Charles Bennett declines Albion College presidency.
1869, August
Trustees offer presidency to Rev. J. LaGrange McKown.
1870, March 16
President McKown is "released from his College duties" by the trustees.
1870, March 18
Professor John McEldowney is named president pro tem.
1870, June 16
Dr. William B. Silber is elected president of Albion College.
1870
Classes first held in Central Building on a regular basis.
1870, Spring
Building of South Hall is resumed.
1870, June
First class memorial is created, thirteen boulders assembled on campus by the Class of 1870.
1870, December 13
South Hall is dedicated.
1871, April
Second class memorial is created, thirteen evergreens are planted in front of the Central Building by the Class of 1871.
1871, May
The College Standard becomes The Annalist.
1871, June 13
Trustees elect Rev. Dr. George B. Jocelyn as president for the second time, ousting Silber.
1872, Spring
Class of 1872 commissions a painting of President Jocelyn by George Balthazar Gardner as their senior gift.
1873
Baseball diamond is laid out on Union Square (the quad).
1873, Fall
Anna Howard Shaw attends Albion College.
1875
Publication of The Annalist stops and there is no student newspaper for 9 nine years, except for a single copy of a publication entitled The College Monthly.
1876, February
Anna Howard Shaw leaves Albion to study at Boston University.
1876, Spring
Class of 1876, in recognition of the Centennial Year, purchases a copy of the familiar Charles Gilbert Stuart depiction of George Washingon.
1883, September 8
Observatory cornerstone is laid.
1884
Observatory completed for only $10,000.
1891
Chemistry Lab moves to Central Building.
1892
Original Gymnasium completed; Bell House disassembled, removed from campus; Bell is placed in Gymnasium.
1892, January 6
Chemistry Lab in Central Building catches on fire.
1893, November
McMillan Chemical Laboratory is built.
1895
Before this year, each dorm room had only a small wood stove for heat.
1899
Class of 1899 memorial is the Rock.
1916, June 12
Epworth Physical Laboratory is dedicated.
1922, January 12
Gymnasium burns to the ground & students celebrate; College bell falls from tower & cracks.
1923, February
North Hall burns down again – Arson?
1923, November 25
Fire of unknown origin strikes the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house
1939
South Hall is renovated, enlarging the chapel, adding a stage & music rooms.
1949
North Hall is renovated.