VENICE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Venice Area Historical Society (VAHS) was founded in 1991 as the Venice Historic Preservation League, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in order to celebrate and preserve the history of Venice, Florida and surrounding areas. The service area of the Society is South Sarasota County, Florida, including Venice, South Venice, Nokomis, Laurel, and Osprey.

Venice is a charming city on the Gulf of Mexico, and its unique character is the result of the thoughtful planning of John Nolen, a nationally-known city planner. Nolen designed a walkable city with an active downtown shopping area, tree-lined residential streets, pocket parks, and other recreational areas, including the beach, the city’s crown jewel. The Nolen Plan has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the city continues to follow its general principles.

The Society sponsors a wide variety of educational programs and initiatives focusing on local and state history-a lecture series, a newsletter, outreach to schools and other local organizations, tours of the Historic Venice Train Depot, a historic plaque program, scholarships for graduating high school seniors, and research into area history.