Lost Places Society
Case 005 · Open local-history file
On a wooded peninsula inside Charlestown State Park, pieces of an Ohio River amusement park still survive. The public record explains how Rose Island rose and fell; family albums and firsthand memories can restore the people who filled it.
What the record says
Before it was Rose Island, the peninsula between Fourteen Mile Creek and the Ohio River was known as Devil’s Backbone and then Fern Grove, a destination for picnics and church outings.
Indiana tourism records say the Louisville and Jeffersonville Ferry Company bought the property in 1881 as a leisure stop for passengers. In 1923, Louisville businessman David Rose purchased it and added an amusement park, swimming pool, small zoo, dance hall, golf course, dining and cottages. Visitors could arrive by car or boat.
The Great Depression weakened the business, and the Ohio River flood of 1937 caused damage severe enough to end the park. The land later became part of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant property and was donated to the state in 1995 as part of Charlestown State Park.
Trail 7 now passes through the former park, where interpretive signs identify remains in the woods. Those ruins document structures. They cannot identify the child in an undated snapshot, the worker behind a counter or the route a family took to reach the river.
This file is looking for those connections. A photograph does not need to be perfect to matter; a date range, family name, ferry name or recognizable attraction can turn an anonymous image into useful history.
Questions still open
A name written on the back of one photograph can reconnect a person, a place and a year.
Inspect the sources
Help complete the file
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