Friends of the Lord-Higel House

The Lord-Higel House is the oldest surviving example of a pioneer structure in the Venice Area. It is one of the few reminders of what life was like on the west coast of Florida before the railroads and roads made access to the area convenient and, eventually, led to the development of the City of Venice during the Florida land boom of the 1920s.

As home for the manager of the citrus grove that surrounded the house, it is a reminder of how important agriculture was to those who came to Florida before 1900. The house and the grove survived until 1950 when the land was subdivided for housing and the house was to be demolished. Descendents of the original grove manager George Higel moved the house to save it. The house was again scheduled to be demolished in 2005. The city's Historic Preservation Board convinced the owner to donate the house to the city. The city paid to have the house moved to a city owned lot on Granada Avenue, one block south of West Venice Avenue and across the street from City Hall.

This two-story Queen Anne vernacular style structure with its wrap-a-round first floor porch was larger than most pioneer houses in the area. Unlike most pioneer houses in the area which had tongue-and-grove board walls, this house had plaster walls; a most unusual feature for a house that was only accessible by water.

The first owner and builder of the house Joseph H. Lord and his grove manager George Higel were both involved in promoting the area - Lord through his real estate business and Higel through his chronicling of area events in a weekly column in the Sarasota Times. Both were involved in local politics: Lord was elected the first State Representative for Sarasota County when it was established in 1921 and Higel was an elected trustee of the Venice School District and a Sarasota County Commissioner.

Since the Venice area attracts many winter residents and visitors, the location of the house makes it an ideal place to promote the area's unique history, as well as depicting the lives and times of the pioneer settlers of the area.

This Place Matters!

The Friends of the Lord-Higel House is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2009.

 Please visit our website at www.Lord-HigelHouse.com.

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