Old-Time Orleans, Vol. 1, Issue 26

Taken in May of 1933 by Frank S. Nayman, this image shows the Village of Albion’s sewage disposal facility located on Densmore Street near Butts Road. The plant used a “trickling filter” system where sewage was continuously sprayed over crushed stone.

Residents of Albion were forced to suffer from the pungent odors and pressured the village on numerous occasions to pursue other waste treatment options. Prior to this, sewage flowed directly into the West Branch of Sandy Creek that runs through the village. Residents clamored for improvements to the sewage disposal system as early as the 1880s, knowing that their current means of waste removal was unsanitary.

In the left half of this panoramic image, we see the houses that line Knapp and Joseph Streets with Sandy Creek running between them and the treatment plant. In the right half are a number of village laborers standing around a Ford Model T truck and a team of horses.

For those with 20/20 vision, you can catch a glimpse of the steeples of both the Presbyterian Church and St. Mary’s Assumption Church.