Text from the Plaque
In 1854 the Methodist Episcopal Church, recognizing the need to improve the training of its clergy, began the construction of a seminary on this site. Designed to accommodate 150 residents with classroom facilities for 400 students, Belleville Seminary was opened in July 1857. Under the able direction of its principal, Albert Carman, the school flourished, producing several eminent graduates. In 1866 it was rechartered as Albert College, an affiliate of the University of Toronto, and five years later it became an independent degree-granting institution. When Victoria College in Cobourg was chosen as official university for the newly-formed Methodist Church in 1884, Albert College became a private collegiate. Moved in 1926 to the present location overlooking the Bay of Quinte, it remains a distinguished residential school.
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