Albany River

Albany River is the name of both a town and of a river. The Albany River both feeds and drains Spearfish Lake, albeit with a dam in the path. The Spearfish River also feeds into the lake and adds to the flow. A good 50 miles of canoeing could be done on the river as Joe McGuinness enjoyed.

Albany River is also a small town, the next one immediately south of the town of Spearfish Lake and before getting to Blair. It does have a station for the C&SL Railroad running on to Moffatt and Camden. Albany River Coal and Lumber was a customer for the railroad.

Binky Augsberg lived in the town of Albany River with the Sarrinens for a time as she learned English. The Baptist church in town had sponsored her. She graduated from the Albany River High School in the spring of 1981. The school was part of the regular season for most any sport played by the Spearfish Lake High School, along with schools in Blair and Moffatt.

The Albany River Middle School was one of the projects that Clark Construction worked on as was an Assembly of God Church in the town after it had burned down in the fall of 1997.

Albany River fire station would assist Spearfish Lake when needed and helped at the big Warsaw fire in 1987. They also assisted at a grass fire in 1990.

Albany River had a roller skating rink in 1990 that attracted Spearfish Lake students looking for a fun and different date. There used to be a sign painter in the town, but his business stopped, allowing Jackie Archer an opportunity to pick up the clientelle. The town also had a number of businesses that would see occasional patrons from Spearfish Lake, including a Dairy Queen, a liquor store and the public library. Marlin Computer was the Internet Service Provider for Spearfish Lake, Albany River and Warsaw.