John Nolen’s Gift...The City of Venice

Article and Photography Provided Courtesy of the Venice Area Historical Society

“Venice is the first city built to demonstrate what Florida can do to produce a community that is at once a fine resort of great charm and refreshment and a city serving all the everyday needs of a well-conceived, well-designed and soundly constructed municipality. The result is an inspiration to those who would make this world a better place to live in.”
V John Nolen, 1927

VENICE
TRAIN DEPOT

Article and Photography Provided Courtesy of the Venice Area Historical Society

 

The historic Venice Train Depot, which is located north of the Venice Avenue Bridge along the Intracoastal Waterway, was featured in a recent addition of the International Journal of Historic Archeology. The article, “Transformative Transportation: The Early Twentieth-Century Railroad on the Southwest Florida Frontier” was authored by Uzi Baram, PhD, of the New College of Florida. He has used the Depot as a case study for the archeology of transportation to illustrate how the construction of a railroad line and station in Venice changed the Florida frontier.

 

 

Friday evening, November 10, 1950, the first official meeting of the Venice Little Theatre Guild was held at the Venice Country Club, on U.S. Highway Business 41 where Publix is now located. Forty-one people attended and elected a slate of officers. They voted to try to obtain use of a former U.S. Air Force Quonset hut as a permanent headquarters for their theatrical endeavor, on the grounds of the Venice Airport. Muriel Olds Dundas, Sonia Terry, Lotta Munday, Fran Barclay, Louis Suter, and James and Jane Lambert were all important backers of this initial effort. The City of Venice quickly granted permission for use of the Quonset hut. On November 23, 1950, the name of the group officially became known as Venice Little Theatre (VLT).

Ancient Indians once prospered in the bounty of the region now known as Myakka River State Park. The 28,875 acres of majestic natural wonders of the river valley are now enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.

In the 16th century, tribes of Timucua and Calusa Indians roamed the area. They were followed by the Seminole Indians in the 18th century, and native people still lived in the river valley when the early settlers arrived. As time passed, the native people were forced away, as homesteaders encroached upon their land. The name Myakka has evolved from the native Macaco people. The area first became known as Mayacca, which turned into Miakka, and was ultimately changed to what we know today as Myakka. In this region’s early history, the graceful river wandered unencumbered where it desired, generously spilling its overflow in time of rain. In dry seasons, the smaller of the two lakes would sometimes shrink to become what was known as “The Big Hole” until the rain returned and filled it once again.

Prior to 1930, all students in Venice and Nokomis had to travel to Sarasota to finish high school. Starting at dawn each morning the bus would meander all around the area, gathering up students for the relatively long ride necessary to finish their education. Because the trip each way took so long, the kids could not stay after class for sports or other school programs. In 1930, all of that was forever changed when the Nokomis School added the 11th and 12th grade level classes to its single building, becoming the first Venice-Nokomis High School. Originally built in 1924 as a small schoolhouse, wings were added in 1927 to accommodate area growth. On September 8, 1927 the Venice News reported on the necessary expansion with, “We saw here fifteen or twenty small industries springing up – another guarantee that Venice will one day be a large and important city.”

Can you imagine driving from Venice to Tampa, and having the trip take 14 hours? Well, before the Tamiami Trail was completed in 1928, that’s exactly how long it took!

In the early 1900s, U.S. Highway 41 ran from Copper Harbor, Michigan to Tampa, Florida. Between 1915 and 1928, only portions of main roads existed between Tampa and Naples. At that time, the “Velvet Highway” connected Tampa with Venice. Further south, prominent businessmen began to push for the continuation of U.S. 41 all the way to Miami, passing through Fort Myers, Naples and the formidable Everglades. They were told it was impossible, so in 1923 an adventurous group set out from Fort Myers in a 7-car caravan to prove it could be done!