Pappy Wilgus built Sandy Beach Amusement Park at Russells Point on the south shore of Indian Lake as the region’s tourist industry was booming in the Roaring ‘20s. It featured the state’s largest dancing venue, the Minnewawa Dance Hall, filled with over one hundred couples dancing to the music of Paul Whiteman, Rudy Vallee, and Glenn Miller. Along with the amusement park staples like a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel, Sandy Park featured the unique Old Mill Shoot where half-boat, half-car vehicles soaked their riders with the huge splash generated as they plunged into a tank of water at the end of a roller coaster hill. Sandy Hill was partially rebuilt following a 1935 fire with Big Bands booking the new Moonlight Terrace Gardens in their tours. The 1960s saw a period of decline amid growing competition and the park was renamed Indian Lake Playland in 1967, nine years before it closed down. Houses and condominiums sit on the grounds of the old park and a refurbished Sandy Beach Bridge still spans Russells Point harbor.
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