Rose Island was a popular amusement park

Amusement park

thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...

 near Charlestown, Indiana

Charlestown, Indiana

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,993 people, 2,341 households, and 1,615 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,570.0 people per square mile . There were 2,489 housing units at an average density of 1,067.4 per square mile...

, situated on a peninsula (the "Devil's Backbone

Devil's Backbone (rock formation)

Devil's Backbone is a rock formation and peninsula formed by the flow of Fourteen Mile Creek into the Ohio River, and is currently situated in Charlestown State Park near Charlestown, Indiana...

") created by Fourteen Mile Creek

Fourteen Mile Creek

Fourteen Mile Creek, shown as Fourteenmile Creek on federal maps, is a creek in Clark County, Indiana, close to Charlestown. It is so named because its mouth on the Ohio River is upstream from the Falls of the Ohio; similar to how Eighteen Mile Island, Twelve Mile Island, and Six Mile Island got...

 emptying into the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

. It was a recreational area known as Fern Grove in the 1880s, mostly used as a church camp. It was so named due to the many fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

s that grew there. The Louisville and Jeffersonville Ferry Company acquired it and developed it in order to increase the use of its ferry business. As Fern Grove it thrived on church picnics and family outings.
In 1923 David Rose purchased the property, added an amusement park

Amusement park

thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...

, hotel, and swimming pool

Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

, spending $250,000 in the process, and renamed it Rose Island.