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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, October 25, 2009, pg. 23 Just south of Albion off M-99 by the Elks Lodge begins Condit Road. Condit is located at and north of the intersection of Condit Road and H Drive South in Albion Township. When the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad was built in 1872, a "flagstop" station was erected at Condit. This meant that the train would stop to pick up passengers if the flag was put out; otherwise it would just keep going. The train would be headed towards either Homer on the south, or Albion to the north. In the days before automobiles, taking the train to town was a viable option. How did Condit get its name? That surname was a prominent pioneer family in the Newark, New Jersey area, and my guess is that a family which came from New Jersey and settled at Condit thus named the road through there. Condit first shows up on the 1873 plat map of Calhoun County. The map shows that the Condit station was located on the east side of Condit Road, north of H Drive South, wedged between the railroad tracks which paralleled the road, and the Kalamazoo River to the east. It is stilled labeled as Condit Station on the 1916 plat map, but the 1926 plat map just says "Condit," and no station is indicated there. In the early 1900s the Lake Shore was purchased by the Michigan Central and consolidation was made, with the Condit station apparently being closed circa 1920. The name Condit still appears on some Calhoun County plat maps. When the railroad (then known as the New York Central) was abandoned at the end of 1943 and the tracks were torn up for scrap in 1944 during World War II, the wooden railroad ties in Condit were left in the ground. For many years Condit Road was gravel and the railroad ties were left crossing the road itself until the late 1960s when they were finally removed. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the Condit Station, a copy of which is displayed on the wall at the former Albion Township Hall at the Blair Farm near Homer. The photo appears to be circa 1910. For many years the late Wayne Crandall was looking for such a photo, and his widow Mary was recently presented ( I don't know the name of the person who donated it to her) with the discovery photo we are presenting this week here in our Historical Notebook. Notice the name Condit on the side. Does anyone have a different photograph of the Condit station?  The Condit Station
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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