Page 14 Saturday, December 1, 2012

by the earliest residents of the area that one pioneer, Joseph Lord, donated the right of way through his land in Laurel.

George Higel, son of pioneer Frank Higel, wrote a column for The Times under the pen name “Nemo.” During the early part of 1911 he watched the work on the new train terminus from the front porch of his home on what is now Madrid Street.

“The station is to be located in what from child-hood we have known as the Sapling Thicket, which is now all cut down,” he wrote. “Though we look for better things, we confess we miss the thicket.”

The Seaboard Air Line Railway was already being used by those who traveled

to its southern terminus in Sarasota.

Everyone seemed to believe they would be seeing trains leaving the station from the new southern ter-minus in Venice by summer, but an unexpected shortage of iron slowed the progress of the tracks being built from Osprey. By August, the residents of the area could hear the train’s whistle and see smoke from its smoke-stack, but the train still had

not arrived in Venice. In September, the bridges

across Dona Bay were completed.

“At last the iron steed has penetrated the suburbs of Venice, and we feel thankful," Nemo declared. “But, after all, as the great chain of railroads penetrate every nook and corner, how much smaller becomes God’s country.”

On Oct. 5, 1911, Nemo wrote, “Some 25 years ago, when a mere lad in

our very early teens, we were transported from the City of Brotherly Love and transplanted within a half mile of where we now write … . Even in those early days railroads were prophesied, and in the intervening years, our hopes have been almost realized, only to be crushed to earth again. Ofttimes, railroad magnates pen-etrated our county, right of ways were blazed. Saturday evening we stood upon the veranda and looked upon the first passenger train to leave Venice.”

The new station was located near the current intersection of St. Augustine and Tampa avenues. J.H. Turberville served as the first station agent.

By the 1920s, the freight trains arrived daily with cars of building materials

TRAINFROM PAGE 12

TRAIN | 15

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAM JOHNSON

Photo of the Venice Train Station circa 1927.

Discover Venice 2012-2013

WANTED! ROLEX WATCHES We Have Buyers Waiting

Rolex, Hamilton, LeCoultre Longines, and more.

W E P AY C ASH For Your Old & Unused Jewelry, Gold,

Silver, Watches & Coins. Why Mail Your Valuables To Strangers?

In clu din g To o ls, G en erato rs, TVs, Co m pu ters, in stru m en ts, An tiqu es a n d M u ch M o re!

Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm • Saturday 10am – 3pm

Venice Estate Jewelry & Loan Inc. Locally Owned and Operated

1940 S. Tamiami Trail Venice • 941-493-3200

4648

75

ROLEX Wanted Serviced & Repaired

CERTIFIED WATCH MAKER

4648

70

Open 7 Days A Week! Tuesdays - Saturday 7am - 9 pm

Sunday & Monday 7 am- 2pm

C ALL OR LIKE OUR F ACEBOOK PAGE TO KEEP UP WITH OUR

D AILY S PECIALS & E NTERTAINMENT !

759 Shamrock Blvd Venice, FL 34293

941-244-0795