Sandy Beach Island

The earliest visitors to the Lewistown Reservoir were attracted by the fishing and hunting opportunities. As more people traveled to the lake to spend time, a more diverse array of activities developed. The most obvious of these activities was swimming, either at beaches or at swimming pools. Almost every major hotel and resort had their own private beach, only accessible for guests. In the heyday of tourism, Orchard Island itself boasted three different beaches, including the oldest beach on Indian Lake, the State Bathing Beach. At some of these beaches, patrons swam in the lake water directly. At other pools the water came from wells, as in the case of Avondale Pool on the north side of the lake. Water that filled the Spa at the amusement park came from the lake but only after passing through an elaborate filtering system. Regardless of where the water came from, plenty of opportunities for playing were available, including large water slides and jumping towers, to provide swimmers with enough means to entertain themselves, including the adults. This was in the days before most adults viewed swimming as an exercise and entered pools only to complete as many laps as possible in as short a time as possible. And around the pool or beach there were many spectators watching those who frolicked in the water.

Sandy Beach Island opened on Decoration Day, May 30, 1912, and offered good music and dancing, in addition to swimming, of course. Regular motor boat service to Russells Point and to Lakeview provided access to the island. Samuel Wilgus had leased a small island that was about 50 yards from the mainland in Russells Point, called Duck Island. He renamed the island Sandy Beach and proceeded to install water slides, swings, and diving stands. He also had truckloads of sand brought in to make this a real sandy beach. In June 1918, Matt Edwards, 31 years old, from DeGraff, became the first casualty when he suffered a heart attack while riding the roller coaster into the water. He was pronounced dead by the time his body was taken from the water.

Undated postcard showing one of the smaller slides at Sandy Beach. Note how few people are in the water compared to the number of onlookers in full dress and skirts.

When the amusement park opened in 1924 the first order of business was to connect Sandy Beach Island to the main land via a mile-long walkway or boardwalk. This view is towards Sandy Beach and taken from the roof of the Minnewawa Dance Hall in the foreground.

This postcard dated 1924 shows the crowds on the new boardwalk to Sandy Beach.

On March 31, 1931, the Bellefontaine Examiner wrote about improvements at the amusement park, soaring to more than $90,000. Among these improvements was a new “huge swimming pool a few feet north of the large dance hall (Minnewawa) at Russell Point, measuring 250 by 300 feet. Excavation has been completed and the foundation on the bath house has been started. It will be 100 feet long. On top will be a large deck where people may view the bathers. It will be reached by three steps from the board walk that encircles the dance hall. The pool which is built by throwing up walls of dirt from the lake, will range from a few inches to 16 feet in depth. The bottom and banks are to be leveled and sanded. In the center will be a large fountain, illuminated and automatically operated. A filtering plant capable of filtering 150,000 gallons of water hourly is to be installed to purify the water.”

In the early days, the Spa had quite a few toys such as four water slides, four diving boards, a diving tower, and a trapeze. Most of these were gone by the time the 1970s rolled around. Lifeguards were on duty whenever the pool was open. The pool was filled with water from the lake that had passed through a purification system, at a rate of three hundred thousand gallons per day. For the benefit of patrons wishing to swim at night, fifteen powerful lights illuminated the pool.

By the time this photograph was taken many of the slides and toys had disappeared from the Spa.