Windy Sawgrass

Friends of the Carlton Reserve 1800 Mabry Carlton Parkway Venice, FL 34292

Windy Sawgrass is the 1934 site of a cattle dipping vat used to treat cattle for cattle tick fever. Cattle were driven through a sluice filled with arsenic and/or other pesticides. They "drip dried" in a nearby holding pen. Between 1915 and 1960, over 3200 such vats were located in Florida, many of which are undocumented as county boundaries and landowners changed.

More information: Florida DEP

General Information on Florida's Dip Vats: Slideshow

To protect Reserve visitors, the dipping vat was filled in. Only one of the original buildings remains. Other buildings--the bunkhouse, cook shack and small stable--were rebuilt exactly to scale by Friends of the Carlton using trees that were harvested for fire management. They were milled on site into boards for rebuilding this site as well as a "modern" 12 stall pole barn for equestrian use.

Sarasota County installed a well and windmill nearby. The site is located near the north border at marker 43.