Lewis and Clark's "Tomahawk Island," just off the east tip of Hayden Island, became another amusement park - Lotus Isle - in 1930. According to journalist Karl Klooster the park's history was mysterious and short-lived: "Its promoters set out in 1929 to appear that they were planning a fabulous fun center just across the way from the new Jantzen Beach Park . . . The idea was to get the wealthy owners of Jantzen Beach to buy them out." Jantzen Beach, however, welcomed the competition.

The entrance to Lotus Isle Amusement Park. Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society

   Lotus Isle Amusement Park opened on June 27, 1930. As at nearby Jantzen Beach, families could swim, dance, picnic, and play an assortment of games. The fun was cut short as tragedy struck on August 28, 1930 when a young boy drowned after falling from the 3/4 mile-long roller coaster. The next day, owner Edwin Platt committed suicide. Subsequent management tried new attractions to draw crowds, but on August 24, 1931, just less than one year after the drowning, the park's $90,000 ballroom burned down. Lotus Isle Park lasted one more season, until 1932, when its assets were sold in bankruptcy.