Church History

Venice-Nokomis United Methodist Church was established in 1868 by Jesse Knight, one of the first settlers in this territory. His first homestead was near Tampa but during the war he moved south to the Upper Myakka Lake area. The cattle did exceptional well in Myakka but Jesse didn’t want to live inland - he preferred the coast. He finally selected to reside in Horse & Chaise. The community got its peculiar name from a growth of timber on a promontory facing the open Gulf of Mexico. Two clumps of trees stood there and seamen coming up the coast swore that one clump looked exactly like a horse and the other exactly like a chaise. The community of Horse & Chaise was later renamed Nokomis. Karl H. Grismer describes the Knight family’s arrival in his book “The Story of Sarasota” as follows:

“The Knights suffered a minor disaster when they were almost in sight
of the Gulf. They came to a board creek, near the head of Dona Bay, which they had to ford. The mules pulling the leading buggy refused
to budge. Knight tried to coax them to enter the water by holding ears
of corn in front of their mouths. But the stubborn animals would not
be tempted. Whips were swung but still the mules stood rooted in their tracks. Finally Knight had an idea. He yelled to his oldest son: 'Bill,
in that second cart there are some dried deer hides. You know, they make a wicked, cracking noise when you handle them. Get one of
those hides and stand just behind those critters and then take the
hide and sort of shake it - and sort of not shake it.'

Bill got the idea. He hurried back to the cart, pulled out a large hide,
and stood alongside the team of balky mules. Then he shook the
hide - not rather lightly, as his father had suggested, but with all his strength. The shaking hide sounded like exploding firecrackers. Frightened, the mules leaped forward, splashing through the creek.
The result was near catastrophe. Two of the buggies and a heavily loaded cart upset in the creek and many of Knight's belongings went overboard. Because of this proof on the super-efficiency of shaken
deer hides, the creek became known as Shakit Creek."

After succeeding in getting the entire caravan across the creek and providing shelter for his family, Jesse gathered his wife and fifteen
children around him to read the scriptures,
thank God for their safe journey, and ask for
His guidance in the future. This event is
considered to be the first worship service
held in the area and established what later
became known as Venice-Nokomis United Methodist Church.

Rev. Jesse Knight

The Knights became one of the leading families on the West Coast. Jesse, a staunch Methodist, became known throughout the region as the Rev. Jesse Knight even though he was never officially ordained

As more people settled in Nokomis the
Knight’s home became too small to hold
the worship services. Rev. Knight built
an arbor on his property consisting of an
open frame and roofed with palm fronds
to keep the sun out. This arbor was used
as the Church for about five years.

Arbor

The community continued to grow and
the need to provide an education for
the increasing number of children had
to be addressed. In 1893 Rev. Knight donated land and supplied the lumber
for a Schoolhouse to be constructed.
The lumber came from the nearest
sawmill, located at Cedar Key, and
was delivered by sailboat. The School
house was small (18' x 24') and only contained straight benches. It also
served as the Church.

Schoolhouse

By 1903, the Schoolhouse/Church had outgrown the facility so Rev. Knight
once again provided the land and a separate church building was construction.

This Church had stained glass
windows, a belfry, and a cast iron
bell. Our Church obtained the bell
in the late 1800's. Its original use
was on an old "iron horse," coal
and wood-burning locomotive. Its
sound became the familiar call to worship for those who resided in
the area. When Rev. Knight died
at the age of 94, the bell was tolled
94 times in his honor.

First Church Building

Notice the word “Venice” written across the photograph of the first Church. Venice
was later moved south of Roberts Bay and Nokomis named for the area north of Roberts Bay.

This first Church was built on a piece of property that today is recognized as an historical landmark for being the area’s first cemetery. The Knight Memorial
Cemetery is located on Colonial Lane in Nokomis, Florida. The cemetery is
about 300 feet north of the Knight’s first home. The name was changed from “The Nokomis Cemetery” to “The Knight Memorial Cemetery” in honor of the founder
of our Church.

On September 18, 1926 the Florida West Coast was hit by a severe hurricane.
One of the casualties of that storm was our Church - it was completely destroyed.
The organ and beautiful pews were damaged beyond repair and the books water-soaked beyond redemption. The cast iron bell from our 1903 Church crashed
to the ground as our Church building collapsed. After the hurricane, the bell was loaned to serve another Methodist Church in the area. The hurricane was a
tragedy that left the community in shock.

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