History

Venice was formed from Scipio January 30th, 1823, and derives its name from Venice, a city in Italy. It is an interior town, lying in the south part of the County, at the head of Owasco Lake, which borders upon the northeast corner. It is bounded on the north by Scipio, on the east by Moravia and Locke, on the south by Genoa, and on the west by Ledyard.

The surface is a rolling upland, whose summits are 300 to 400 feet above Owasco Lake. The declivities on the lake and west bank of Salmon Creek are steep, though generally the hillsides are long, narrow slopes.

Its waters are Salmon and Little Salmon Creeks and their tributaries, and numerous small stream, which head in the east part and flow east, emptying into the lake and its inlet.

There are several slate quarries which have been worked more or less for 50 years, but more extensively in recent years.

The Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad extended through the center of town, along the valley on the east side of the Salmon Creek. The Southern Central Railroad crossed the north-east corner of the town and had it's station (Cascade) with its limits. The former railroad is also know as the western extension of the Midland Railroad. It was leased by the Utica, Ithaca U& Elmira Railroad Company and was opened in 1872.

The above is from the "History of Cayuga County, New York 1789 - 1879" by Elliot G. Storke

Today, the Town of Venice is most commonly know for its role in the agricultural world, boasting many family owned and operated dairy and crop farms.

Venice population as of the 2010 Census (Census's completed every 10 years) was approximately 1368 residents (approximately 41.14 square feet).

See Wikipedia for more information on the Town of Venice and Maps.

Halloween History

From the Syracuse.com archives: The most memorable Halloween pranks - I wonder who they were...

Butternut squash roadblock - Venice, 1955

A couple Moravia boys were in trouble after a pre-Halloween prank nearly went too far. And they might have gotten away with it, but they had to get in one more before calling it a night.

The three boys would later admit they dumped a bag of straw and two bags of garbage onto the driveway of a widow in Venice, just south of Auburn.

They then poured two gallons of kerosene down the wheel tracks in the driveway toward the pile of straw and garbage.

The widow heard the commotion and came out to rescue her car from the flames and called the fire department. The fire got to within six feet of her house.

The youths fled, but a second prank would do them in.

Four crates of butternut squash were taken from a farmer and thrown into a road. A tip from the farmer led to the arrest of one of the boys, who implicated another and soon all their night’s activities were known.

Two of the boys faced 5 to 15 days in jail.

For more pranks/original article click here: SYRACUSE