Albion State Normal School

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Albion State Normal School was an institution of higher learning located in Albion, Idaho. The school was established by the Idaho State Legislature in 1893, as one of two Normal Schools in the state. (The other, in Lewiston, Idaho, is now Lewis-Clark State College.) Citizens of Albion had actively lobbied for the school's establishment, and donated land and labor for the new campus.

The school remained a small institution throughout its history, focusing on the training of teachers and drawing its student body primarily from south-central Idaho. Albion Normal offered a two-year teacher training program until 1947, when it was renamed "Southern Idaho College of Education" (SICE) and authorized to confer baccalaureate degrees. The school remained troubled by low enrollment and a lack of funding, however, and was finally closed by the state in 1951.

During its existence, Albion Normal awarded some 6,460 degrees. Perhaps the most notable alumnus of the college was Terrel Bell (1921-1996), who served as United States Secretary of Education from 1981 to 1984.

The college's athletic teams were known as the Cougars.

After SICE closed in 1951, the campus remained vacant until 1957, when Magic Valley Christian College opened at the site. Magic Valley Christian, in turn, closed in 1969. The empty and deteriorating campus is now owned by the city of Albion, which in 2006 is searching for prospective developers to assume ownership of the facility and restore its buildings. The campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.