FRANKLIN C. COURTER Morning Star, November 17, 2013, pg. 13 As we approach Thanksgiving, here is a helpful hint: how about purchasing a copy of my latest book "Albion Postcards" to place on your coffee table for relatives to look at while they are waiting for the turkey to get done? I’ve got the books all ready to go, so give me a call at (517) 629-5402. I’ve got the books with me around town, at my house, and also will mail them to people if you prefer. Make sure your coffee table has something on it this Thanksgiving. Recently there has been some interest in Battle Creek concerning one of its celebrated historic artists, Franklin C. Courter (1854-1947). Courter was a native of New Jersey and came to Michigan with his family in 1868. He was a student at the Albion Preparatory School at Albion College from 1873 to 1876, and included art in his studies. He subsequently moved to Battle Creek in 1878. There he set up a portrait studio which he operated for several years. Courter is best known for his paintings of landscapes, portraits, and portraits of President Abraham Lincoln. His most well-known work was a painting of Sojourner Truth being shown a bible by President Abraham Lincoln. That painting was displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1888 he returned to Albion College, this time as an art professor, and became the head of the School of Painting from 1891 to 1895. He painted the portrait of College president Lewis R. Fiske which hangs in the Stockwell building today. Courter is listed as an "Instructor in drawing, perspective and painting" at Albion College in the 1894-95 Albion City Directory. You can go on the internet and read interesting stories about his paintings, and auction results. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of Franklin Courter from the Albion College 1891 yearbook entitled "The Symplegades," opposite page 36, and a cartoon he drew for that yearbook, found on page 104. His signature is in the lower right corner. Franklin C. Courter (1854-1947) Personals, from 1891 yearbook "The Symplegades" page 104 Next: STREET LIGHTS INSTALLED 100 YEAR AGO Back to the Top of this Page All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic  |  Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026 Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook  |  From the Archives  |  Subject List  |  100 Years Ago  |  Alphabetical Index  |  Frank Passic Home Page  |  Albion History Books  |  Contact Frank Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue Michigan Prints offers limited-edition archival Giclée prints, miniprints, notecards and boxed sets featuring Michigan landmarks, nature, resorts and nostalgia. Each print and card includes a legend on the back with stories about Michigan history. Albion scenes include the Kalamazoo River waterfall and the Blizzard of 1978. Find Michigan Prints online and at local shops. Michigan Prints  |  Albion Scenes  |  Custom Cards  |  Zazzle Gifts AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net  |  Albion Blog  |  Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference. General Guide — Community  |  General Guide — Outdoors Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited. AlbionDesign.com — Communications Specialists Since 1981  |  Advertise on AlbionMich.com