Historic Spanish Point facts for kids

Historical marker

Historic Spanish Point is a 33-acre museum and nature area in Osprey, Florida. It's a great place to learn about Florida's past.

Here, you can explore an ancient shell mound, which is like a giant pile of shells left by early people. You can also see a pioneer homestead from the 1800s. There's also a citrus packing house, a chapel, and beautiful gardens with nature trails.

History of Historic Spanish Point

People have lived at Historic Spanish Point for about 5,000 years! This area has a very long history. Different groups of early people lived here from about 5,900 years ago until about 1,000 years ago.

These early people lived along the shores of Tampa Bay. They learned to make pottery and stopped moving around so much. They became settled communities. They used the many resources from the Gulf of Mexico, marshes, forests, and bays. They also made special tools to help them live here. We don't know exactly what happened to these early people after about 1100 AD.

The Webb Family Homestead

In the 1860s, the Webb family moved from Utica, New York to start a farm here. They settled on the shores of Little Sarasota Bay. A Spanish trader they met in Key West told them about this good spot. The Webbs named their new home "Spanish Point" to thank him.

John Webb and his family grew citrus fruits, sugar cane, and vegetables. They built a packing house to get their crops ready for sale. In the early 1900s, the Webb family sold parts of their land to new settlers.

Bertha Palmer's Estate

In 1910, a rich woman from Chicago named Bertha Palmer bought the Spanish Point homestead. She was the widow of a famous businessman, Potter Palmer. Mrs. Palmer bought thousands of acres for cattle, citrus farms, and building new homes.

The Webb homestead became part of her large 360-acre estate, which she called "Osprey Point." Mrs. Palmer kept the old pioneer buildings. She also added beautiful formal gardens and lawns around them.

Mrs. Palmer passed away in 1918. Her family continued to care for Osprey Point. In 1959, her grandson, Gordon Palmer, helped fund a three-year dig at the ancient shell mound. Today, this site is the museum at Historic Spanish Point.

Becoming a Historic Site

Gordon's widow, Janis, and other family members helped get Spanish Point recognized as a special place. In 1975, it became the first site in Sarasota County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's officially recognized as an important historical site.

In 1980, the Palmer family gave the site to the Gulf Coast Heritage Association. In May 2020, Historic Spanish Point joined Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. It is now a companion campus, offering even more to explore!

Exploring the Exhibits

Historic Spanish Point has many interesting places to visit. Each one tells a part of the area's long history.

Visitors’ Center at Osprey School

This building was once the Osprey School. It was built in the 1920s when many people were moving to Sarasota County. The school was designed in a style called Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It used to be the museum's welcome center. Now, it is home to the Osprey Public Library.

Old Osprey School

The Webb Packing House

The Webb family used this building to prepare their citrus fruit. They would wash, dry, sort, and pack the fruit here. Then, they shipped it to places like Key West, Florida and Cedar Key, Florida. From there, it went to markets in the northern United States. This building is a true copy of the original packing house.

The Magic Boat

The Magic was a sailboat that John Webb changed into a motor launch around 1900. When it's not out on the bay, you can see a copy of it near the Packing House pier. John Webb's grandson, Charles Webb, used the Magic to take guests around.

For many years, no one knew what happened to the original Magic. Then, Charles Webb's old journal was found. He wrote that a hurricane in 1921 completely destroyed the boat. He had pulled it far up on land, but the storm was too strong.

Mary's Chapel

Mary's Chapel is named after Mary Sherrill, a young woman who passed away while staying at the Webbs' Winter Resort. The chapel you see today was rebuilt in 1986. It has six beautiful stained-glass windows that were saved from the first building. This chapel is a popular spot for small weddings.

Pioneer Cemetery

Next to Mary's Chapel is the family graveyard. Members of the Webb family and other early settlers of the area are buried here.

The Guptill House

Frank and Lizzie Webb Guptill built their home in 1901. It was built on top of an ancient shell mound. They used to rent rooms to people visiting for the winter. Ten years later, Mrs. Potter Palmer bought the house and called it Hill Cottage. The Guptill House is now decorated to show what a Florida pioneer home looked like.

Pioneer Boat Yard

For early settlers along Florida's coast, boats and the ocean were very important. The Webb family's farm depended on the water for travel and trade. Frank Guptill had his boatyard near where this working boatyard is today.

Archaic Midden: A Window to the Past

The Archaic Midden is the oldest shell mound at Historic Spanish Point. It dates back to before 3000 BC. It is believed to have been built by the Calusa people. These were complex hunter-gatherers who lived on Florida's Southwest Coast.

The midden is made of layers of shellfish, shell tools, pottery, and other old items. These layers built up over thousands of years. This is the only archaeological exhibit in the United States that is built inside an ancient shell mound. You can see an audiovisual program about the first people who lived here. There's also a diorama showing an ancient home and interactive displays.

The Lizzie G. Boat

The Lizzie G. is a working copy of an 1890s sharpie sailboat. It was built by volunteers at Historic Spanish Point using old tools and methods. The wood came from local trees and was shaped by hand. No power tools were used to build the Lizzie G. Its sails are made of hand-stitched cotton.

Point Cottage

This house was built in 1931 for Potter Palmer III and his wife, Rose. It was later lived in by Potter's sister, Bertha. Today, it is used for educational programs.

Shell Ridge Midden

This is the highest point on the Shell Ridge Midden. Early people might have built it as a platform for a chief's home or a temple. The Webb family also built their home here in 1867.

Sunken Garden and Pergola

Mrs. Bertha Palmer created the Sunken Garden between 1912 and 1915. It was a formal garden within the natural Florida environment. The Pergola next to it was built to offer views of the bay. Today, it is a popular place for weddings.

White Cottage

Jack Webb built this building in 1884. In the 1890s, it became "The Dormitory" for the Webbs' Winter Resort. The first floor has exhibit galleries. The second floor has a research center, which you can visit by appointment.

Gardens and Nature Trails

Historic Spanish Point is also home to beautiful gardens and nature trails.

The Gazebo

The Gazebo is similar to one that was part of Mrs. Palmer's estate. It features many native ferns, trees, and epiphytes (air plants).

Palmer Water Garden

The Water Garden, also called the Ornamental Pond, was created by Mrs. Potter Palmer as part of her estate.

Duchene Lawn and Classic Portal

Mrs. Palmer's formal Duchene Lawn has two rows of queen palms and Washington palms. The Classic Portal used to frame a view of Webb's Cove during Mrs. Palmer's time.

Lychee Field

This is now a grassy field with a few lychee trees. It was once a large grove of lychee trees, which produce a fruit from the Far East. The Lychee Field was part of Gordon Palmer's plant nursery in the 1950s.

Butterfly Garden

This garden is designed to support the full life cycle of butterflies. It has plants for both butterfly larvae (caterpillars) and adult butterflies. You can see monarchs, swallowtails, zebra longwings, and other butterflies here.

Fern Walk

You enter Mrs. Palmer's Fern Walk under an aqueduct. This area is a natural hollow created by the ancient shell mound. It features beautiful ferns and palms.

Jungle Walk and Aqueduct

Mrs. Bertha Palmer created the Jungle Walk. It has shell paths that wind through tropical plants and past classical urns. A small aqueduct has water flowing over a shell waterfall.

Cock's Footbridge

The original Footbridge was built in the late 1890s by Daniel Cock. His boarding house, "Fiddler's Lodge," was once at its northern end. Today, it offers a great view of the mangrove shoreline and the boats.