Historic Spanish Point is a 33 acre archaeological, historical, and environmental museum park located on Little Sarasota Bay. Established as a museum in 1982, it was the first site in Sarasota County to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is open to the public daily, and interprets 5,000 years of human habitation, including prehistoric shell mounds, a burial mound, a pioneer homestead, and gardens of turn of the 20th century socialite and real estate developer, Mrs. Potter Palmer. The museum also features one of the largest butterfly and native plant gardens on the suncoast, a working boat-building facility with reproduction watercraft rides, and areas for special event rentals.