Overview
In December 2004, Sarasota County paid $11.75-million to purchase the former CSX Transportation railroad corridor connecting Sarasota to Venice as a future multiuse recreational trail. The purchase was accomplished in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation organization. The 12.4-mile-long and 100-foot-wide corridor stretches from just over a mile south of State Road 72 (Clark Road) by Sawyer Loop Road in Sarasota to the southern terminus near Center Road in Venice.
Historical Perspective
This corridor serves as a link to the rich and wonderful past of the region. In 1911, the railroad corridor was extended through the Venice area at the request of the Palmer family. The railroad line preceded any of our modern highways, and served as the way Southwest Florida was discovered by many of its early inhabitants. Among the more well-known users of the railroad line were the U.S. Army during World War II, the Kentucky Military Institute and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which wintered in Venice from 1962-1992. The railroad corridor links with the Venice Train Depot, which was built in 1927 and used for many years until the last passenger left the depot in 1971. Under a separate project, the Venice Train Depot was later purchased and rehabilitated by the county, which reopened it in 2003 to once again serve the area’s transportation needs as the south county passenger transfer facility for Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT). The depot will serve as one of the trail heads of the recreational trail.
The Legacy Trail
On May 9, 2007, the Sarasota County Commission approved the name, The Legacy
Trail, to reflect the heritage of the former railroad corridor and the
trail’s lasting legacy for future generations. The name was based on a trend
that surfaced in a number of suggestions from the public. More than 100
names were submitted.
