Railroad History

Railroad service reached Venice in 1911 at the request of Mrs. Potter (Bertha) Palmer, when the Seaboard Air Line Railway extended its line from Fruitville through Bee Ridge, where the Palmers' Sarasota-Venice Company was developing land, to the Palmers' Venice properties. Palmer interests persuaded the U.S. Postal Department to move the Venice post office to the railroad terminus, and the pioneer community at the original post office site lost its identity, leading residents to choose Nokomis as a new name. In 1925, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers began work on the new City of Venice, and city planner John Nolen designed the city and had the Seaboard Air Line tracks moved eastward to the industrial section. The early depot at the junction of what are now Tampa and Nokomis Avenues was later replaced by the current depot on East Venice Avenue. Over 80 years, the railroad linked Venice with points north and was associated with the lumber, turpentine, and tourist industries, the Kentucky Military Institute, the World War II Venice Army Air Base, and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. As airplane and truck travel replaced rail travel and transport, passenger service ended in 1971, and the circus, the last major commercial user, left Venice in 1991.

Palmer Ranch, Florida · United States