Tree Trimming in Venice, FL

The area of Venice was originally the home of native people who lived more than 12,000 years ago. The 1800s is when the area saw the first wave of settlers. Venice was first known as Horse and Chaise because of a carriage-like tree formation that marked the spot for fisherman. In the 1870s, Robert Rickford Roberts established a homestead near a bay that bears his name today, Roberts Bay. Frank Higel arrived in Venice in 1883 with his wife and six sons. He purchased land in the Roberts’ homestead for $2,500, equivalent to $69,000 in 2020, 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. Higel established a post office in 1888 with the name Venice because of its likeness to the canal city in Italy where he spent his childhood.

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. 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 1925-26.