In 1923, the Courier-Journal proclaimed that David Rose had purchased the Fern Grove property, with plans for an amusement park. He had big ideas and big dreams, and he wanted to give the area a boost. In the 1920s, Rose was well aware of local Fern Grove, and was interested in the Falls Cities Ferry & Transportation Company. He is often remembered for offering the city of Louisville 10 city blocks worth of electric lights, hoping to set an example for others of his wealth. He established a number of different businesses and organizations, including a recreational home for newsboys, the International Circulation Managers Association, the Riverside Park, the first public swimming pool (at Shelby Park), and the Southeastern School of Printing in Nashville. It was built into a multi-million-dollar printing company over the next 20 years, becoming the largest in the South. One of the most notable was the Standard Printing Company, which he founded in 1901 using $75. He was associated with over 26 corporations during his life. There, he worked his way up the ladder of the Louisville Post. He purchased a newspaper agency at the age of 11 and managed it for a few years. David Roseĭavid Rose was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with not much to his name. But while the older members of the somewhat sterner sects clucked and shook their heads in disapproval, their young flocked to join the outings of Calvary, St. To say there was a sensation is gross understatement. Travelers would disembark from the ferry in the morning and spend the entire day picnicking, exploring the ferns, and relaxing amongst the natural beauty.Īll was calm until one year: All Sunday-school picnics were pretty much identical until that famous summer when the Episcopalians introduced dancing on their boat rides. The Louisville and Jeffersonville Ferry Company purchased the land in 1881 from its Ohio owners to serve as a stop for leisure passengers on its ferries. This was a time long before air conditioning.Ī 1917 newspaper ad calls it the beauty spot of the Ohio Valley, describing the area as gorgeously bedecked in beautifully tinged wildflowers. Promotional literature of the time proclaimed Fern Grove as THE place to get away from the heat and humidity in Louisville. It had latticed front porches along the entire from of the building, surrounded by trees and climbing flowers. The building was three stories, done in the Victorian style. This was a spectacular place, particularly for the time. People came to Fern Grove to get out of the sooty city and into the fresh clean natural air.Ī hotel was built on the site, called Fern Cliff Hotel. Fern Grove was large, pleasant picnic ground. Quote: This was the summertime treat looked forward to all year long. The location was calm and peaceful, full of natural beauty along the Ohio River. Churches also ran religious camps on the site. People came to Fern Grove to picnic and relax on Sundays after church. In the 1880s, the area began being called Fern Grove, an obvious name choice due to the massive amount of ferns growing in the area. Thus is the beginning of the history of Rose Island. His verdict about the supposedly man-made stone wall? Both the plan and the description of this so-called fort are entirely imaginary… He went on to say It seems incredible that a person connected in any capacity with a geological survey, even as a cook or mule-driver, could ever have made such a ridiculous blunder as to suppose them artificial. In 1902, one of the most well-traveled archaeologists at the time, Gerard Fowke, visited the site. Others say that the Aztecs (located down in central Mexico) actually had a northern outpost in IN, right on Rose Island. Some say that a Welsh prince called Madoc and his men occupied the island in the 1170s. The island is actually a peninsula, known as Devils Backbone, located between the Ohio River and Fourteen Mile Creek, east of Charlestown, IN.Ī number of stories exist about the early history of the area, centuries ago, all based around the supposed existence of a (reportedly) man-made stone wall around the actual Devils Backbone rock outcropping. The story of Rose Island begins as the story of a geological structure. To talk about Rose Island, we have to go back. 1980 Expedition to Abandoned Rose Island Amusement Park.
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