Friends of the Carlton Reserve
1800 Mabry Carlton Parkway
Venice, FL 34292
The Carlton was once used as a source for pine tar and turpentine.
Buster Longino talks on turpentine industry, ranching, Sarasota County history, natural lands, conservation, water resources. Click here
The Carlton Reserve was used historically to produce charcoal and pine tar used as a marine sealant, a wood preservative, weatherproofing rope, and human and veterinary medicine. A depression pit was filled with pine tree roots and stumps, covered with a metal dome on which a fire was built to force resins out of the wood. The pine tar flowed out the bottom of the pit via an iron pipe. There is no written history of the exact procedure, but the Reserve has a remnant pine tar extraction site and evidence of the turpentine industry including pine trees with "catfaces" and ceramic collection pots.
While no turpentine still was located in the Reserve, resin was collected here and distilled into turpentine offsite.
Located at St. Andrews State Park is an example of a preserved turpentine still where resin collected from sites like the Carlton was processed to produce turpentine. It has a variety of industrial uses.
President:
Treasurer:
Website & Info:
Park Naturalist
Meghan Harris Meyer
Link to searchable U.S. map resources with parks, trails, campgrounds, historical sites, marinas, etc.
Sarasota County
Field Guide
to Conservation Lands
(download 64pp. PDF)
