https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/venice
Earle Kimel Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Sarasota City Commission first met in the Hoover Arcade, which was built in 1913 at the foot of Main Street. It was purchased by the city in 1917
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE VENICE MUSEUM
VENICE – A new photo exhibit that opens Tuesday at the Venice Museum, “Celebrating a Centennial: The Origins of Sarasota County,” looks back at the era when Sarasota County split off from Manatee County, with a decidedly Venice twist.
“The Venice district was the only district that did not vote to separate from Manatee County,” noted Venice Historical Resources Manager Harry Klinkhamer.
The June 1921 vote passed overwhelmingly, 508 to 154, but in Venice, it failed with a tally of 22 votes for and 30 against, according to the front page of the Sarasota County Times. The county’s official founding date is July 1, 2021.
“Keep in mind it’s 1921; there weren't a whole lot of people out there,” said Klinkhamer, who added that only male property owners voted.
Back then, the name Venice referred to the area now known as Nokomis, and the district extended from Nokomis to the Myakka River area, with Sarasota, Osprey, Englewood, Miakka and Manasota the other available districts.
Englewood voters logged in with a unanimous 25-0 approval of the measure.
“There were enough votes in the city of Sarasota alone to make it happen,” Klinkhamer said.
In the city of Sarasota, the vote was 406-118 for creation of the new county.
The Venice Museum is in the Triangle Inn at 351 Nassau St. S., on the Venice Cultural Campus, and is generally open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, though it is closed Jan. 18 for the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
More featured events highlighting Sarasota County’s centennial can be found at sarasotacountycentennial.com.
Kinkhamer said the exhibit in Venice mostly comprises historical photos with extended captions.
Venice voters were worried about Sarasota County’s ability to succeed on its own.
“There had been meetings over at the old Pollyanna Inn; that was the hotel built by Dr. Albee in Nokomis,” Klinkhamer said.
Dr. Fred Albee, a wealthy orthopedic surgeon, would later buy 2,916 acres of what is now the island of Venice in 1925 and hired urban planner John Nolen to design the city.
Before working on the Venice plan, Nolen designed Sarasota.
Albee later sold Venice to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which retained Nolen.
The first street in Venice opened in June 1926. The city itself was incorporated in 1927 and will be gearing up for its centennial celebration in 2027.
Though Venice’s founding fathers had worried about the success of Sarasota County, heirs of Bertha Honore Palmer, who had bought more than 80,000 acres in and around Sarasota, made a pitch to bring the county seat to the area.
“The Palmer family offered up land and money to build a courthouse, and they got turned down on a technicality,” Klinkhamer said.
Scaffolding surrounds the east wing of Sarasota County’s historic courthouse in June 12, 2017. By then, workers restoring the building had completed the roof and tower and were starting on restoring ironwork, stripping old paint and repainting the exterior of the east wing.
The first Sarasota County Commission, which was appointed by the governor, operated out of rented space in the Hover Arcade in the city of Sarasota.
The now historic Sarasota County Courthouse was built in 1927.
The exhibit in the Venice Museum will be available through Jan. 12, 2022.
Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate
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