Editing Albion, Dane County, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The [[Christiana, Dane County, Wisconsin|Town of Christiana]] was created from the Town of Albion on May 6, 1847.
Freeborn Sweet was the first settler of the Town of Albion, migrating from [[Oneida County, New York]] in August 1841. Other settlers began arriving that fall. In 1842, the first inhabitants in what would become the hamlet of [[Albion (community), Wisconsin|Albion]] arrived, and the following year they organized a [[Seventh Day Baptist]] Church, which became a prominent institution in the community.<ref name="mad">{{cite book|title=Madison, Dane County and Surrounding Towns|publisher=William J. Park|location=Madison|year=1877|pages=283–290|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luaQ6IVdY_gC&q=dane+county+history}}</ref>

In 1844, settlement began in the northern part of the town, known as "Albion Prairie". A school was organized the same year. A [[Primitive Methodist Church]] was soon started, but burned down in the 1860s. A later building, constructed in the early 1870s, still stands near Rice Lake. In 1868, a [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] was built near the Primitive Methodist Church, but that building was demolished in the 1930s.

In the 1800s, the hamlet of Albion was a retail center for the area, with a general store, a wagon and blacksmith shop, a steam mill that manufactured wagons and sleighs, a harness shop, and a hotel.<ref name="mad"/>

In 1854, Albion Academy was founded by the Seventh Day Baptists in the hamlet of Albion. It offered a classical education, including courses in the classics, mathematics, science, and music.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sanford |first=Don A. |title=A Choosing People: The History of Seventh Day Baptists |publisher=Broadman Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-8054-6055-1 |location=Nashville |pages=127–286}}</ref> It is considered one of the first co-educational colleges in Wisconsin. Among faculty members at this school were the famed Swedish-American naturalist, [[Thure Kumlien]], and the Norwegian-American author and diplomat, [[Rasmus Anderson]]. Graduates of the college included naturalist [[Edward Lee Greene]], educator [[John Q. Emery]], newspaper editor [[Christopher J. Rollis]], [[Colorado]] governor [[Alva Adams (governor)|Alva Adams]], and [[Minnesota]]'s U.S. Senator [[Knute Nelson]]. The last remaining building of the academy, Kumlien Hall, was destroyed by fire in the 1960s. However, it was rebuilt and a museum devoted to the academy and the early education of southern Wisconsin is now located on the Albion green. Among the treasures at the museum is the canoe paddle created by [[Sterling North]], author of the 1963s bestseller [[Rascal (book)|''Rascal'']], for the canoe that North built at his childhood home. The canoe, unfortunately, was destroyed in the 1960s fire of Kumlien Hall.<ref>[http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2C3Z Albion Academy Historical Marker - Wisconsin Historical Markers on Waymarking.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=12162&letter=A |title=Albion Academy (Historic Marker)<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=February 3, 2008 |archive-date=August 19, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819101558/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=12162&letter=A |url-status=dead }}</ref>