historic spanish point

This was a wonderful, historic location to visit. If you have often wondered about Florida history in the Sarasota - Venice corridor this is the place to visit. Spanish Point has wonderful trails through local fauna, and houses and buildings of a bygone era. The attraction has easy access, plenty of parking, and is not too expensive for admission. Plan to spend at least two hours. You can plan your own tour around the property from a map provided, or you can take a two hour walking tour which is include with your entrance fee. There is a guest golf cart for taking people from location to location if they have trouble walking.We elected to take the walking tour, and we are glad we did. The tour guide was a wealth of knowledge, and so she should be. She was born locally and even went to school on the property in a school that is now the welcome center.If you have driven much in this area you will have seen the name "Palmer" as in Palmer Ranch. This is the individual that first owned and developed the property, which at one time included all the Myaka area. See, I am a wealth of knowledge because of our guide! She did a terrific job and left everyone far more knowledgable than when they arrived.I gave it four stars instead of five because there are a few points they can improve on.1. There were two or three people in our group that had difficulty walking the distance, and climbing stairs. When we bought our entrance tickets the difficulty of the tour for slightly handicapped people was not explained. The guide had to radio for the golf cart to pick one person up before the tour finished.2. Probably our own fault. We did not take any water and it was a hot day. None is for sale, so I found myself having to drink from a sink tap in the washroom. They could make a few dollars selling water, and suntan lotion.3. My wife and myself were buying tickets and I mentioned us going to the toilet before the two hour walk. The ticket seller told us to use the toilets outside even though there was toilets inside the welcome center. Maybe he had to clean them and he didn't want them used! The only toilets outside that we could find were an hour into the tour.So my suggestions are: Bring some water, use the toilet before you leave home, and don't take the walking tour if you cannot walk for a couple of hours. But if you do go I am sure you will really enjoy the experience, as I did. I will probably visit again.

Spanish Point is a good piece of Florida history and heritage on the west coast of the state. There are many interesting things to see and it has a good history of the family that settled here long ago.

This is a very interesting park. There are traces of very early settlement (thousands of years back) and homes from the early 20th century. We walked the park and the houses and enjoyed our visit very much.This is one of the most interesting places in Florida in our opinion.pore

If you don't take the tram you will miss out on so much, as you can tell from the reviewer that did not take the tram. After, you can walk around to your favorite places. FYI, The trams only run certain days & not on weekends. Also, everything seems subject to change because the whole place is run by volunteers, nice as they are. There is also a web site www.historicspanishpoint.org that is worth a look. That is where I found out that they have discounts for seniors, etc. Now, here is what they don't tell you... THIS WAS A PROLIFIC AREA TO FISH, before the "No Name" Storm closed Midnight Pass (in 1989). That safe harbor & passageway to the Gulf of Mexico, is the reason the Indians were here 5,000 years ago & that is the reason that the house was built on that location over 150 years ago. If their garden had a lean year, they could get fresh fish any time. Realize there was no refrigeration back then. Osprey was known far & wide as a fishing village until that storm changed everything. A few blocks south of Spanish Point, stands a 90 year old house (worth a look) that was once a fish camp where the largest tarpon were caught by the wealthiest Northern Tourists. It is at the corner of US41 & Main St & It's amazing that any of these wooden buildings (called Cracker Houses) are still standing (Hurricanes, termites). When I was a little kid (1950's) this old man (he looked 99 years old) told me all this. We were fishing off the pier (worth a look) at the end of Main St. & he told me he remembered when Main St was the only street in town, which led to Old Venice Road, the bumpiest dirt road. He looked through all his wrinkles at me & said, "That old road wasn't fit for ladies to travel on. They came by boat, to this very pier". Then he said, "I took 'The Unsinkable' Miss Molly Brown out fishing for Tarpon"! To which I said, "Who"? But I digress (often). Enjoy Spanish Point AND the town around it. Loveliest & Friendliest place on the planet.

This is an interesting destination that has a lot to offer but does take some tolerance for ambiguity inherent in many small, local, volunteer-driven and likely underfunded museums and historic sites. Yes, the road signage was confusing and the directions a little casual for first-time visitors, but the staff was friendly and welcoming; the scope of the history very broad; and some of the artifacts from the several eras that comprise the site were very interesting. The thought of a two-hour guided walking tour seemed a little daunting but the pace was easy, the grounds do not change elevation very much and the amount of information imparted by our guide, volunteer Jim Raudabaugh (apologies, Jim, for this spelling) enriched our visit. There is a fairly informative printed guide for walk-it-yourselfers, but as the guided tour costs no more than regular admission, it's an option I would not dismiss. Our guide added so much more detail and anecdote, providing a good cultural history of that part of Florida. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the tour for younger children, but for adults with an interest in history or archeology or flora (native and non-native/invasive) or all of the above, this is a very rewarding stop.

The site at Spanish Point includes a variety of items of historic interest. There are middens over twenty feet high created by early Native Americans over a thousand years. At one point a cutaway through one midden reveals the many layers of built up over millennia. There are also buildings and other sites related to the white pioneers who first settled the area in the 19th century. Finally there are gardens and other sites created in the 1920s by the highly remarkable Ms. Potter Palmer, wife of the owner of the Palmer House in Chicago. Overall, there are 25 sites in all. Tours are organized by highly knowledgeable volunteer docents.

Poorly marked. No one cared. Lost at least 40minutes wondering around the wrong park! Finally found the place to buy our tickets-the building says its a library, also a school. Not until you are up the stairs can you find identification of Historic Spanish Point! Back into the car, this time drive up correct road and begin to look around. So many places were locked tight and without guides or a volunteer. We entered the minden display, sat down, pushed the botton and all the lights went out.After that we sat in the dark as nothing happened. Felt our way in the pitch black to the doorway. We tried again later on but still no show, only darkness! Moving right along, the gardens were nice if ill kept, the views were lovely. What a potential here but no one seems to care. In this place with soooo many seniors, can you not find volunteers eager and willing to help? Something is wrong with this picture.

Nice easy guide stroll throught the history of this area of early Florida and the people who lived there. There is an Indean burial mound dating some 3000 years ago. To the first family to purchase the land and it development. The wife and I loved it.

Old Florida at its best; grrat tour---be sure to go by shuttle----get lots of inside information and easy on the legs as there is a lot of walking

We visited on a drizzly, cool day and still really enjoyed our tour. Curt did our tram tour and was filled with information. It was fascinating information about old Florida and lovely grounds. We watched the movie at the end instead of the beginning of the tour(which was recommended) and were glad we did. We will bring lots of visitors here!

This is a wonderful way to experience the last few hundred years of Florida's history from the earliest homesteaders to the present. It also includes an amazingly well preserved look into the prehistoric history of the area with a unique archeological exhibition. Visit it if you can.

This was a spur of the moment visit and was so well worth it. However, for such a terrific historical site, someone should take the time to make sure everything is signposted better. The Visitors Center doesn't say it is. In fact it says it is a library. The young man in the guide hut and the entrance told us we could drive up to the entrance to the site. He then sat and watched us take the wrong road without attempting to set us on the correct road. (There are two entrances - you need to take the one on the far right). After driving around for 10 minutes, we eventually came back on the main road and had to take our lives in our hands to cross the road and get back into the parking lot! Having said that, the exhibits were terrific (even though not all were open to the public) and the archaeological center with the shell middens was really great. As it was getting close to closing, we were not able to spend as much time as I'd have liked. 2 hours minimum would be better to really enjoy the walk round.

This is our third visit. We prefer our visits when we take a tour with a docent. This time we had Gail. She was great! She loves her job and it shows. The area is beautiful.

This week, while staying on lovely Siesta Key, we visited this beautiful spot. It is an opportunity to walk thru an ancient community -- even learning about the people who lived here more than1 thousand years ago. The walking is easy, views lovely - and the learning is interesting. We learned what a MIDDEN is! The best part? It is dog friendly!! So Jackson enjoyed strolling with us!

Spanish Point is beautiful, educational, and a great place for a nice walk and some exercise. They have tours at scheduled times or you can do self guided. To walk the whole site us easily done but they do offer a "tram" service which has 4 stops for those who have trouble walking far. The docents will tell you all sorts of information and stories. Over all, very nice time.