NEW History Hop Trolley Tours Offered By Discover Sarasota Tours

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Discover Sarasota Tours

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Jul 26, 2023

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Florida - Sarasota, Bradenton & Charlotte Counties

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In Englewood, guests will tour the Historic Green Street Church and the Englewood Area History Museum to learn about Lemon Bay. In Sarasota, hop-offs occur at the Bidwell-Wood HouseCrocker Memorial Church and the Whittaker Cemetery. In Venice, the tour begins at the Historic Venice Train Depot and the recently restored Ringling Circus Car Museum and continues through the downtown historic district.

The Englewood tour is led by Don Bayley of the Englewood Museum; in Sarasota and Venice, Kathryn Chesley, Discover Sarasota Tours guide and resident historian will lead the tours.

The History Hop Trolley Tours grew out of the recent Sarasota County Centennial Celebration and is a partnership with the three historical societies.

Don Bayley, Vice President of Englewood Museum said: “The Englewood Museum at the Lampp House and the Lemon Bay Historical Society are looking forward to the History Hop Trolley coming to Englewood. We have lots of fascinating history to share! We thank  Discover Sarasota Tours for this exciting opportunity.”

“One of the most pleasurable and instructive ways to experience the neighborhoods, the history and the culture of a city is to be part of a guided trolley tour,” said Marsha Fottler, President of the Historical Society of Sarasota County. “We love it when the Discover Sarasota Tours trolley pulls into our two heritage properties at Pioneer Park and the visitors on board get to discover us. We are delighted to participate in History Hop Week, March 14-16 because it’s good for history education and good for our city. And you don’t have to be a tourist to enjoy it. We can all learn more and have fun doing it.”

“The Venice Area Historical Society is excited to partner with Discover Sarasota Tours to offer highlight tours of the Historic Venice Depot Campus,” said George W. Miller, of the Venice Area Historical Society. “Displays in the Depot chronicle the major milestones in the City’s development and in the construction and history of the Depot. Exhibits in the nearby Circus Train Car colorfully depict Venice’s circus history and legacy. Also featured in the car are an arena miniature and rooms that illustrate how circus performers lived on the train.”

Discover Sarasota Tours has been leading historical tours of Sarasota for the past four years. I am delighted to be able to expand our existing historical tours to the rest of Sarasota County,” said Founder and CEO Tammy Hauser. “I am also delighted to be able to support the efforts of our historical society partners by donating a portion of the net proceeds from these tours to them to continue their important work of preserving and presenting the history of these incredibly rich an interesting areas,” she added.

2023 marks the first year of History Hop Trolley which is expected to continue in future years as a weeklong Sarasota County history celebration.


Each tour departs from and returns to the same starting point:

  • ENGLEWOOD Tour departs from Historic Green Street Church at 510 South Indiana Avenue in Englewood
  • SARASOTA Tour departs from The Trolley Cottage at 1826 4th Street in Sarasota
  • VENICE Tour departs from the Historic Venice Train Depot, 303 East Venice Avenue in Venice 

A portion of net proceeds will be donated to each participating historical society partner to support the programs and services they provide that keep Sarasota County history alive.

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Local Services By This Author

Discover Sarasota Tours

Senior Activities 1826 4th Street, Sarasota, Florida, 34236

Discover Sarasota Tours is a locally owned tour company offering many entertaining, interactive and informative air-conditioned trolley or van tours about the most interesting people, intriguing places and amazing stories that have shaped Sarasotas rich cultural past.If you are looking for a fun activity for your next group outing, look no further. Our tours are perfect for groups. Check out our private group tours and nonprofit programs pages.Our tours run year-round, but during our hottest months of the summer, we don't run all tours every day, so please check the calendar. If there is a date not listed when you would like to tour, please email us at info@discoversarasotatours.com.