Near Charlestown in Clark County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Welcome to Rose Island!
Where nature and history tell a story
Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 13, 2026
1. Welcome to Rose Island! Marker
Steamboats brought the visitors on day trips
Between 1923 and 1937, most visitors came to Rose Island by steamboat for day trips. Others rented cottages or stayed in the grand hotel. Rose Island was the most popular destination for miles around.
A summer playground becomes a nature preserve
The peaceful wooded retreat you see today was once a bustling summer resort called Rose Island Amusement Park. During its heyday, thousands of people came to enjoy the fresh air, amenities, and amusements of the resort.
We went every so often on the steamboat Idlewild, now the Belle of Louisville. You take a picnic lunch with your family my mother and us girls would go up there. You would dock and go up a hill through an arch that said Rose Island. They had a picnic area and they had an amusement park. It had a merry-go-round, little pony rides and swimming pool. Now my father and me would take the family up there in the car sometime in the summer. We would go up the Indiana side. We would park the car and walk across the old swinging bridge. Mildred A. Lankford
Did you know?
As nature reclaims the area, forest growth and the changing landscapes of the Ohio River can be seen throughout the former resort.
Erected by
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Horticulture & Forestry • Parks & Recreational Areas • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1923.
Location. 38° 25.569′ N, 85° 37.299′ W. Marker is near Charlestown, Indiana, in Clark County. It is on Trail #7 north of Jersey Avenue, in the median. The marker stands in Charlestown State Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Charlestown IN 47111, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southern Indiana. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Ohio River Valley, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Travel back in time on Rose Island (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Rose Island Dance Hall (about 400 feet away); Rose Island (approx. 0.4 miles away); Rose Island Trail (approx. 0.4 miles away); Indiana State Parks: The First 100 Years 1916-2016 (approx. 1.3 miles away); Fern Grove and Rose Island Resorts (approx. 2.1 miles away); Ohio River: the Human Story (approx. 2.1 miles away); Downs House (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Charlestown.
Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 13, 2026
2. Welcome to Rose Island! Marker
Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 13, 2026
3. Welcome to Rose Island! Marker
Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 13, 2026
4. Welcome to Rose Island! Marker
Marker is on the left.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 29, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 24, 2026, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Last updated on June 27, 2026, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 24, 2026, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
