Venice, Florida

The area that is now Venice was originally the home of Paleo-Indians, with evidence of their presence dating back to 8200 BCE.^[9] As thousands of years passed, and the climate changed and some of the Pleistocene animals that the Indians hunted became extinct, the descendants of the Paleo-Indians found new ways to create stone and bone weapons to cope with their changing environment. These descendants became known as the Archaic peoples. Evidence of their camps along with their stone tools were discovered in parts of Venice.^[10] Over several millennia the culture and people who lived in the area changed. The peoples who the Spanish encountered when they arrived in 1500s were mound-builders. Venice lay in a boundary area between two cultures, the Tocobaga and the Calusa, and so you can find evidence of each in the area.^[11]

The 1800s is when the area saw the first wave of "European" settlers. Venice was first known as Horse and Chaise because of a carriage-like tree formation that marked the spot for fishermen. In the 1870s, Robert Rickford Roberts established a homestead near a bay that bears his name today, Roberts Bay.^[12] Francis H. "Frank" Higel, originally from France, arrived in Venice in 1883 with his wife and six sons. He purchased land in the Roberts' homestead for $2,500, equivalent to $82,000 in 2023^[13], to set up his own homestead. Higel established a citrus operation involving the production of several lines of canned citrus items, such as jams, pickled orange peel, lemon juice, and orange wine.^[14] Higel established a post office in 1885 with the name Eyry as a service for the community's thirty residents. In February he was appointed as postmaster but the office was shut down months later, in November 1885, with services moving back to Osprey. In 1888, another post office was established, this time with the name Venice, a name Higel himself suggested because of its likeness to the canal city in Italy.^[15][16]

During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, Fred H. Albee, an orthopedic surgeon renowned for his bone-grafting operations, bought 112 acres (45 ha) from Bertha Palmer to develop Venice.^[12] He hired John Nolen to plan the city and create a master plan for the streets. Albee sold the land to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and retained Nolen as city planner. The first portions of the city and infrastructure were constructed in 1925–1926.^[17]

In 1926, a fire department was formed with thirty-two volunteers. In that same year, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers purchased a new American LaFrance fire engine from Moore Haven that had been damaged in the Great Miami Hurricane.^[18]

The first library was also founded in 1926 by the Venice-Nokomis Women's Club. This "library" was a few books on a shelf in a local store. The library had several temporary homes until 1965 when the Venice Area Public Library was built.^[19][20] This building remained in use until it was demolished in 2017 due to mold. A new library was constructed in 2018 called the William H. Jervey, Jr. Venice Library, named after a benefactor of the new building.^[21]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.6 square miles (43.1 km²), of which 15.3 square miles (39.5 km²) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²), or 8.19%, is water.^[8] The climate of Venice is humid subtropical, bordering very closely on a tropical savanna climate, thus featuring pronounced wet and dry seasons.

Climate

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,463 people, 12,521 households, and 6,810 families residing in the city.^[27]

In 2020, there was a population of 25,41.2% of the population were under 5 years old, 6.4% were under 18 years old, and 61.9% was 65 years and older. 3,204 veterans lived in the city and 9.5% of the population were foreign born persons. 54.6% of the population were female persons.

In 2020, the median household income was $61,953 with a per capita income of $60,284. 6.8% of the population lived below the poverty threshold. 90.9% of the households had a computer and 81.3% had a broadband internet subscription.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 20,748 people, 11,143 households, and 5,926 families residing in the city.^[28]

Annual cultural events

Venice has been listed in several publications as being the "Shark's Tooth Capital of the World".^[29] It hosts the Shark's Tooth Festival every year to celebrate the abundance of fossilized shark's teeth that can be found on its coastal shores.

Museums and other points of interest

The following structures and areas are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Armada Road Multi-Family District
• Blalock House
• Eagle Point Historic District
• Edgewood Historic District
• Hotel Venice
• House at 710 Armada Road South
• Johnson-Schoolcraft Building
• Levillain-Letton House
• Triangle Inn
• Valencia Hotel and Arcade
• Venezia Park Historic District
• Venice Depot

Theatre and music

• Venice Theatre is the largest per-capita community theater in the United States with an operating budget of almost three million dollars.^[30]

Venice's newspaper is the Venice Gondolier Sun. It is published twice each week and has a circulation of 13,500 copies.^[31][32]

Tampa Bay's Univision affiliate WVEA-TV is licensed to Venice, though it is based in Tampa and broadcasts from Riverview.

Transportation

Roads

• I-75 – the only freeway in the area, I-75 runs through the mainly inland areas of the City of Venice.
• U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) – The Major North-South Route through the City.
• U.S. 41 Bypass (Venice Bypass) – Forms a Bypass Loop of Venice Island, and the City of Venice.
• State Road 681 – Venice Connector, this road was formerly the southern terminus of Interstate 75 in the early 1980s.
• County Road 762 (Laurel Road) – Runs East-West and connects US-41 to I-75 in the Northern Sections of the City.
• County Road 765 (Jacaranda Boulevard) - Runs North-South, skirting the Western City Limits, connecting I-75 to US-41, southwest of the City.
• County Road 772 (Venice Avenue) – The primary east-west Roadway in the city, CR 762 connects US-41 to US-41 Bypass and Jacaranda Blvd (CR-765).

Rail and Air

Passenger railroad service, served by the Seaboard Coast Line, last ran to the station in 1971, immediately prior to the Amtrak assumption of passenger rail operation.^[33] Previously Venice was one of the Florida destinations of the Orange Blossom Special.^[34]

Venice Municipal Airport is a city managed public-use airport located two miles (3.2 km) south of the central business district. The nearest airport with Commercial Airline Service is Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport.

Law enforcement

Venice is patrolled by the Venice Police Department, Tom Mattmuller is the current Chief of Police. The small department has special units for bike patrols, traffic patrols, and boat patrols, amongst the normal police services provided. There are a total of 73 members of the police department that serve Venice.^[35]

• Brian Aherne, English actor^[36]
• Dri Archer, American football player ^[37]
• Trey Burton, American football player ^[38]
• Hector A. Cafferata Jr., United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic service at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War^[39]
• Walter Farley, author of The Black Stallion^[40]
• Dick Hyman, jazz musician ^[41]
• Forrest Lamp, professional football player
• Alvin Mitchell, American football player ^[42][43]
• Tom Tresh, professional baseball player
• Steve Trout, former major league baseball pitcher
• Early Wynn, professional baseball player

• Huffman Aviation, a flight school at Venice Municipal Airport which was attended by several of the hijackers of the September 11 attacks
• Kentucky Military Institute, which wintered in Venice for many years
• Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, whose Clown College originally was located in Venice, and whose winter headquarters used to be in Venice
• Tervis Tumbler, a United States drinkware manufacturer with headquarters and production in Venice
• Epiphany Cathedral (Venice, Florida), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Venice
• Venetian Waterway Park, is a 9.3-mile concrete trail located in Venice consisting of two parallel trails along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) connected by two bridges.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Venice (Florida).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Venice, Florida.

Official website