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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, June 26, 2026, pg. 5 Albion still has some magnificent 19th century houses that have stood the test of time, and are still in existence today. One of them is the house at 504 S. Superior St., which was recently sold and is awaiting restoration. This is the prominent house across the street from the library on the southwest corner of S. Superior St. and W. Ash St. Since 1980 it has been the home of the Century 21 Realty, until recently. The house first appears drawn as a foundation in progress in the July 1893 Sanborn Insurance Company map, available on the Library of Congress website. Thus, we can surmise that the house was constructed in 1893. Judging from the looks of things, the contractor for the house appears to be William M. Loder, who erected many homes in Albion during the 1890s. Take a look at the house at 902 S. Eaton St., as it bears a similar majestic appearance to the 504 house. The 504 house is first listed in the 1894-95 Albion City Directory with Henry and Ella Young residing there, with their two sons Archie and Dean also residing therein. Archie would later become a Mayor of Albion. The Youngs lived there until early 1900s, when it was purchased by O. O. Champion who remained there throughout the 1910s. It was in the early 1920s or thereabouts that William Byfuss (originally Beilfuss) purchased the place and lived there the rest of his life with his wife Mary. Their daughter Mildred (1899-1976) was a prominent elementary school teacher in Dearborn, Michigan in her early teaching years. Mildred later married Colonel Joseph L. Duckworth, the first person to purposely fly through the eye of a hurricane. Later in life, the couple moved to Albion into Mildred's childhood home at 504, and Mildred subsequently taught 5th grade at Dalrymple School. Yours truly was one of her students in 5th grade. In her final years Mildred directed the Adult Education Program at the Albion Public Schools. This house was never on a corner lot, as it may seem today. That space to the north of the home all the way to Ash St. once had another house standing there at 500 S. Superior St. That was the home of one of Albion's Civil War veterans, Nicholas Plough (1831-1906). His house/land was later acquired by Henry Young at some point, who still owned it in 1924. The May 15, 1924 Albion Evening Recorder mentioned: "Peter Minder and Ernest Harris have purchased the residence on the Henry Young property at the SW corner of S. Superior and Ash Sts. and expect to move it to a vacant lot somewhere in the city. The site thus cleared will be used for a filling-station." This small filling station was known known as the American Oil Corporation in the 1920s, and by 1934 was known as the Sinclair Filling Station. It remained there for many years under various ownerships and names until closing in the early 1970s. The building was subsequently demolished and the land was merged with 504 next door. In 1980, Realtor David Brigham purchased the house and it then became the Century 21 Realty headquarters. It operated here for more than four decades. Finally, the house was recently sold by Ace Realty of Albion, and is awaiting restoration by the new owners as a private residence. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a 1911 photograph of the house 504 S. Superior St., with the former Plough home on the right on the corner. We also present a photograph showing the house and the gas station next door as it appeared during the 1960s. How many of our readers remember this gas station? We wish the new owners of 504 S. Superior St. great success in repainting and restoring this historic home into a community show piece, to be seen by all driving past it there on M-99. I encourage our readers to look up the history of the house that you live in. You might find that information quite interesting.  1911 Photograph of the House at 504 S. Superior St.
 Sinclair Gas Station, 1960s
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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