FIRST MERIT BANK BUILDING 100 YEARS OLD Morning Star, August 14, 2016, pg. 14 Work is rapidly progressing on the newly named Ludington building at 101 N. Superior St, formerly known as the Parker-Kessler Block. The process of massively remodeling a building into something different in downtown Albion is not something new. It was exactly 100 years ago that one of Albion’s most prominent and historic landmarks was reconstructed: The Jesse Crowell Stone Mill at 207 S. Superior St. The Stone Mill was erected in 1845 as a water-powered flour mill, and was later converted to steam power. The firm built up a flour trade which was known nationwide. It discontinued business in the early 1900s, and was purchased by local investors, the Albion Holding Company, which sold it to the Commercial & Savings Bank in the fall of 1915. It was decided to reconstruct the bank on the site, using part of the old Mill stone walls. Work began on February 1, 1916. The Albion Leader newspaper editor William B. Gildart (1848-1918) wrote an "obituary" for the Stone Mill as well as a lengthy poem (too long to publish here). In it he wrote: "Last fall the Old Stone Mill was sold to a syndicate, who decided to reconstruct on its site using part of the old walls, a modern bank building, and early in the winter, work of wrecking the mill began. A local junk man bought and broke up the machinery. The roof and front have been torn away, and today it looks as if it might have been the victim of a German Zeppelin raid. In reconstruction, much of the old stone taken out of the front will be used in the rear wall, and both side walls will be retained. The new building will be sort of Phoenix, rising from the ashes of its ancestor, a fitting successor to the Old Stone Mill." As part of the reconstruction process, the large 1845 cornerstone of the Mill was removed and placed in Crowell Park. The new bank replaced it with a "1916" date above the front door. The bank moved from its 101 E. Erie St. location and officially opened for business at this new site on January 1, 1917. From our Historical Notebook this week, we present a before, a during, and an after-reconstruction of the Stone Mill. For those who come to do you banking here, be sure and congratulate First Merit Bank on the 100th anniversary of the of their building. The Stone Mill: Before During After Next: PEABODY GOTHIC MILL BURNED IN 1876 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