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In mid-July of 2022, following the dredging of the shipping channel in the Ohio River by the Army Corps of Engineers, a temporary island was born in the middle of the waterway near downtown Evansville, IN.
Seemingly overnight, someone cleverly transported a camper out to the island. Very quickly, it became a sensation in the community after being found on July 21st.
As evidenced by the photos on this site, the attraction became very popular with the boating local boating community making for a sensational scene. Local media organization EvansvilleWatch, with the assistance of local drone service provider, Evansville Aerial, provided the community as a whole an up-close view of the camper and sandbar.
Affectionately perhaps, someone erected a sign, dubbing the camper and its sandbar as the "Poon Saloon", a moniker that quickly stuck.
A local realtor, Missy Mosby, went so far as joking on Facebook that the property was up for sale.
“We have been flooded with calls on this new listing & have been swept away by all of your offers,” she said.
Source: Missy Mosby, Facebook
Not too long after, river levels rose from the approximately 15 feet on the day it was discovered to reaching 21 feet by July 30th.
At one point, someone planted a Trump 2020 flag out there on the quickly overtaken island.
"Situation is dire"
As one can imagine, it was swept away by that point due to the rising waters and was later recovered by Uniontown Water Rescue and Henderson City-County Rescue Squad. The posted on Facebook that they had recovered the camper as it floated downriver. They indicated that after towing the floating vehicle for several hours, it broke into pieces as the hit shallow water pulling it up on a boat ramp. They said they recovered all of the parts they could.
"Not the ending we were hoping for," Uniontown Water Rescue's post said. "But at least it's no longer a navigational issue."
Source: Uniontown Water Rescue, Facebook
In May of 2023, it was discovered by Evansville Aerial that Google had updated their satellite imagery used on Google Maps of the area. This updated imagery happened to include the Poon Saloon and its sandy mantle right in the middle of the Ohio River, effectively enshrining this attraction forever.
Note: All imagery provided by Evansville Aerial unless noted.
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