Osprey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2020 census, up from 6,100 at the 2010 census. The town is located in Southwest Florida and is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Osprey had a population of 6,690. The median age was 62.7 years. 10.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 45.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,201 households in Osprey, of which 13.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 60.9% were married-couple households, 13.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Osprey is the mailing address for Oscar Scherer State Park and the new Scherer Thaxton Preserve, two of the few protected areas maintaining habitat for the threatened Florida scrub jay. Osprey is also the location of the Blackburn Point Bridge, a one-lane bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Osprey is also the site of an unsolved 1959 family massacre.
Osprey Public Library at Historic Spanish Point
The Osprey Public Library at Historic Spanish Point is the smallest in Sarasota County. The space is only 630 square feet and is a conversion of a schoolhouse full of rich history. The branch is the county’s first "connections" library, based on the King County, Washington, model, offering online access to the resources of the entire library system in a modest space (630 square feet) with sustainable operating costs.
The Osprey Library opened on November 10, 2011, and offers free Wi-Fi access, online availability of the entire library catalog, plus pick-up and drop-off service items from other libraries within the system. Some improvements were made to the original school building, such as an acoustical ceiling and panels for the wall, window treatments that buffer the sound, and carpeting. The branch is close to the main road, so these renovations offered an immediate improvement in noise reduction.
The Osprey School served the Osprey and Vamo communities from 1927 through June 1976. The land where the school resides is part of the 145-acre homestead of John and Eliza Webb, who settled in Spanish Point in 1867. When it became apparent that the community needed a new school, the land was sold to the school board for $10 on December 28, 1926, by Mabel Webb Johnson and her husband, Ernest. The school was designed by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliot. His plan for the Spanish Colonial Revival-style building recognized the importance of cross-ventilation in a hot and humid climate. The layout, with all the classrooms in a line, took advantage of cross breezes for cooling and an exterior hallway shaded classrooms from the afternoon sun. The one-story, six-classroom school initially served grades one through nine and was constructed by Becchetti and Romersa for $19,000.
The school opened in 1927 but, like most Sarasota County schools, had to close for several months in 1933 because of a lack of revenue. During difficult economic times, parental and teacher involvement sustained Osprey School. After World War II, when the county experience renewed economic growth, the school was rewired in 1959 to allow for air conditioning and heating units. Osprey School survived without further improvement until June 1976, when it closed. Students in the area transferred to schools north or south of the community.