Welcome / Home
SAVE THE DATE for SIMPLE PLEASURES!
Albany Community1st! would like to invite one and all to our first annual olde time Community Picnic on:
Sunday, August 22nd
Noon until 4PM at Legion Park
300 N. Water Street in downtown Albany
Bring
your blankets and comfy chairs and your favorite picnic foods (or order
take-out from our many fine Albany establishments) to enjoy under the
shade trees by the beautiful Sugar River starting at noon.
There
will be lawn games all afternoon (badminton, cornhole, kickball, and
more) and a "lucky ducky" game with little prizes for kids 6 and under.
Kids and adults both can buy a ticket to try their luck at our “guess
how many jelly beans in the jar" candy raffles.
Then
at 1PM we’ll have some rip-roaring good old-fashioned fun with contests
for all ages (sack races, three-legged races, egg-in-a-spoon races, a
watermelon seed-spitting contest!)
All
activities will be safe (i.e. only family members can enter the
three-legged race together) and socially-distanced. Free masks and
sanitizer stations available onsite. After all this time apart, let’s
come together to enjoy the simple things. We sure hope you can join us
for an afternoon of family fun and community togetherness.
Albany welcomes you!
Mission Statement
Albany Community 1st! is dedicated to maintaining a small town atmosphere, promoting our businesses, civic organizations, schools, churches, citizens, and farmers in the community. We seek to enhance the community as a whole by working together, we strive to provide a bright future for all.
Vision statement
We recognize that our community is diverse, strong, and full of potential. Albany Community1st! has a vested interest in preserving the past, enhancing our present, and promoting our future. With thought, persistence, dedication, and utilization of resources, we put "Albany Community 1st!" for all.
Vision statement
We recognize that our community is diverse, strong, and full of potential. Albany Community1st! has a vested interest in preserving the past, enhancing our present, and promoting our future. With thought, persistence, dedication, and utilization of resources, we put "Albany Community 1st!" for all.Albany
Albany is a pleasant village of 1191 people located 30 minutes from Madison and Janesville, and two hours from the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. Highway 59 runs through the heart of downtown Albany. Residents take pride in their community with its small town atmosphere. In addition to the school district activities, other points of interest include its churches, recreational facilities, and its unique bed and breakfasts.
Albany, Sweetest Little Village on the Sugar River
Albany offers the peace and tranquility of country and river life, with abundant opportunities for entrepreneurs. The heritage of the English, Norwegian, Swiss, German and other nationalities that settled Albany is apparent in the energy and friendliness of today`s residents.
History
The first people to live in the Albany area were Native Americans of the Winnebago tribe. They came in the spring with their children and their ponies, setting up camp, tending their gardens, and fishing in the Sugar River. Legend has it that they called the river “Tonasookarah” meaning sugar and also referring to the maple trees along the riverbank.
“Campbell’s Ford,” the name by which Albany was first known, was an ideal river crossing settled by James Campbell and Thomas Stewart in 1839. Seven years later Captain Erastus Pond, master of a Great Lakes ship, and Dr. Samuel Nichols, from Vermont, attracted by prospects of excellent water power and the scenic area, came to Campbell’s Ford with their families. Dr. Nichols built a double log home, which was shared by the Pond family for a few months until they built their own. Both homes were on the east side of the river. These families were followed by others from New York state and New England. Very soon, settlers came from Norway, Germany, Ireland, Wales and Switzerland, and Albany was on its way to becoming a prosperous community, surrounded by thriving farms.
Albany gained some fame at the end of the 19th century as a city located on the “RIVER OF PEARLS.” There was an abundance of oysters and clams in the Sugar River.
