Herrington Harbour South		Herrington Harbour North

In the Beginning

(1947 – 1978) Rose Haven Yacht Club

As time passed, the Herrington Harbour area was virtually uninhabited until Joseph Eugene Rose rediscovered it in 1947.

Joe Rose immigrated to America in 1895 when he was hardly a year old.  He lived in Brooklyn, NY with his four siblings.  At only 9 years old, he ran away from home and joined the carnival.  He would often return home, but he never stayed for long.

Eventually, Rose would reside in Washington, D.C. where he owned a souvenir shop on the corner of 7th and G Streets.  He and his wife, Jene, lived in an apartment on 16th St. in N.W. Washington.  His other businesses included a Glen Burnie pool hall/arcade and a restaurant on the South River.  By the 1930's, he had moved to the bayside community of North Beach, MD.  There he opened up the Rose's Musical Bar, a bingo parlor, snack bar, arcade and a bathhouse.  His musical bar was filled with slot machines that raked in an estimated $10,000 per week in the 1940's.

Joe Rose made a lot of money at his entertainment and casino businesses in North Beach, MD during the “pre-Bay Bridge” era.  His next great idea was to create a community for yachtsmen.  He purchased close to 600-acres of waterfront land in the counties of Anne Arundel and Calvert.  In 1947, he bought an old dredge from Baltimore, purchased additional parts from a junkyard and dredged a harbour without any prior experience or knowledge of how to dredge.  Rose Haven Yacht Club opened for business in 1948.  The marina and community he built would thrive during the 50's, 60's and early 70's.  Activities included powerboat racing, beauty contests, fishing carnivals and yacht club activities. 

One morning in the August of 1974, Joe Rose passed away at Calvert Memorial Hospital after suffering a heart attack.  His wife was the sole beneficiary of the marina and her nephew helped run it for the next three years while it was for sale. 

(1978 – present) Herrington Harbour Marinas