Mound House staff Sarah Desquesnes, Brent Newman, Parke Lewis, and Public Works Director Cathie Lewis met last week with the director and staff of the Spanish Point Museum in Osprey, just south of Sarasota, for a tour of the grounds and an in depth discussion of the logistics involved in the long term preservation and management of the thirty acre environmental, archaeological and historic site. Spanish Point and the Mound House site share many unique similarities including historic homes situated on top of ancient Native American shell mounds, overlooking a rich mangrove estuary environment, botanical gardens and extensive areas of native vegetation. Not to mention the fact that that these are the only two locations in Florida to offer underground “walk-in” exhibits of shell mound archaeology.
Established in 1980, the Spanish Point Museum was originally the home of the Manasota people who constructed the shell mounds. Later, the site became home to the pioneer Webb family and finally the Palmer family both of whom who built historic homes on the site.
Our staff deeply appreciates the hospitality, insight, knowledge and experience that museum curator, Ryan Murphy and executive director Linda Mansperger provided. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Spanish Point as Mound House continues to develop.
