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Woodmere Lumber Company
Nearly one hundred years ago a thriving community
once existed on this site, but the town that was,
isn' t anymore! Hardly a trace can be found.
Today, traffic flows by on Route 776, the busy
highway running south from Venice toward Englewood.
But the thousands of people who pass by daily have
no idea that the largest lumber mill in the State of
Florida once existed here where
The
Dome Flea Market
now fronts the highway. It was called... Woodmere.
The year was 1917. To the South the small community
of Englewood had been established but it was only
accessible by a narrow rutty wagon trail or by
sailing along the Gulf of Mexico and Lemon Bay.
Venice didn’t exist. Where it would eventually be
sited there was only a railroad and a freight car
used as a ticket office for the station master. The
city itself wouldn’t be established until 1925 when
it was laid out by the Cleveland based Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers who planned it as a
retirement community for its workers.
In those days railroads were the principle form of
transportation. The development of vast areas of the
United States was made possible because of
railroads, and so it was in Florida.
For Much More of the Exciting History
of the Dome Flea Market Site be sure to visit Our
multi-media Historical Exhibit at the Dome Flea
Market! |
