Roselawn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Newton and Jasper counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, Roselawn had a population of 4,132.
Since the opening of Club Zoro Nature Park in 1933, Roselawn has been known for its nudist resorts. Today it hosts two such resorts: the Ponderosa Sun Club and Sun Aura. Sun Aura resort was previously known as Naked City, but closed in 1986 after its operator, Dick Drost, encountered significant legal troubles. The resort continued to operate under several different owners and was known as Sunspot resort prior to becoming Sun Aura.
History
Roselawn was laid out in 1882. The community's name is an amalgamation of the names of early merchants Orlando Rose and Lon Craig. A post office has been in operation at Roselawn since 1881.
On October 31, 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184 crashed near Roselawn, killing all 64 passengers and four crew members aboard.
Geography
The original center of Roselawn is in northeastern Newton County, with the CDP extending eastward into northwestern Jasper County. Indiana State Road 10 passes through the community, leading east and north to DeMotte, and west the same distance to Lake Village. Interstate 65 passes through the eastern part of the community, with access from Exit 230 (State Road 10); I-65 leads north to Gary and south to Lafayette.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Roselawn CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.15%, are water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Roselawn had a population of 4,132. The median age was 40.7 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.0 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,516 households in Roselawn, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.1% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Lincoln Elementary is in the Roselawn CDP, and has a De Motte postal address. North Newton Jr-Sr High School, the public high school of the district, is located north of Morocco CDP and has a Morocco postal address.
The portion of Roselawn in Jasper County is in the Kankakee Valley School Corporation (K-12 school district).
Roselawn has a public library, a branch of the Newton County Public Library.