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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, February 13, 2022, pg. 7 It is nice to see that a new business, The Albion Mercantile, has opened up in the old "Fedco" location at 217 S. Superior St. after the two joined buildings were extensively remodeled. One-hundred twenty years ago, the north building housed the Albion National Bank, while the south building was the location of Mitchell’s Confectionery store. This location was originally the site of Jesse Crowell’s "Stone Mill" office, erected in 1845 along with the Stone Mill to the north (the old City Bank building). A lithograph of the office and the mill appears on the canvas 1858 Map of Calhoun County. One of the peculiarities of this location was the drinking fountain out in front of the store. No, not the one that is there today, but the one that is underneath it. Let me explain. Most all of the east side of S. Superior St. has a high-water table because of the nearby Kalamazoo River, and there are various flowing artesian wells or flowing water, even in the basements of downtown buildings. In Albion’s pioneer days, all the way up through 1910, there was a flowing well in front of the National Bank here, right along the curb on S. Superior St. There was an iron fence around the well, and you had to climb down into it. There you would find a single "community cup" which everyone used to acquire a fresh, clean cup of water to drink. At the beginning of August, 1910 however, this all came to an end. The Lohrke Brothers construction firm placed an iron manhole on top of the flowing spring. A concrete sidewalk was installed on top of that, and the iron fence was removed. A new drinking fountain was installed on the sidewalk, using plumbed "city water." A small open space was left around the flowing well itself, which could be entered via the manhole on the sidewalk. The flow of the water was not stopped however, and I wonder if the water still flows under there today to wherever it goes. The flowing well was not stopped because property owners feared that by stopping the well, the water might seek a different route and make its way into their cellars. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a postcard photo, circa 1910 showing the well in front of the Albion National Bank, pictured on the right. On the left is the Ideal Barber Shop. If you look in front of the barber’s pole, and just in back of the telephone pole, you’ll see the iron fence. How many of our readers have drunk from any of Albion’s drinking fountains in the past year?  1910 Front View of the Albion National Bank
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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