Palm Harbor in Pinellas County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Rheba Sutton White Chapel
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 17, 2019
1. Rheba Sutton White Chapel Marker
Inscription.
Rheba Sutton White Chapel. . The Florida Methodist Conference College, now Florida Southern College, relocated its campus to present-day Palm Harbor in 1902 after purchasing the San Marino Hotel, located at Florida Avenue and Omaha Street. In 1904, the college built an administration building adjacent to the hotel, which included a 700-seat chapel used for religious services. A devastating fire destroyed the main school and administration buildings in 1921. Volunteers hauled the hand-made bricks from the ruins of the administration building to this site, where they were cleaned by hand. Using those salvaged bricks, the first Palm Harbor United Methodist Church was built in 1924. The bell in the church steeple was also rescued from the college. In the 1970s, the Methodists built a larger sanctuary in Palm Harbor, but the former church building continued to serve the community, becoming its first library and later a community food pantry. Pinellas County purchased the property in 1999, restored the church, and built the adjacent Harbor Hall. In 2005, this historic building was rededicated to Rheba Sutton, a life-long Palm Harbor resident who twice fought to stop demolition of the chapel.
The Florida Methodist Conference College, now Florida Southern College, relocated its campus to present-day Palm Harbor in 1902 after purchasing the San Marino Hotel, located at Florida Avenue and Omaha Street. In 1904, the college built an administration building adjacent to the hotel, which included a 700-seat chapel used for religious services. A devastating fire destroyed the main school and administration buildings in 1921. Volunteers hauled the hand-made bricks from the ruins of the administration building to this site, where they were cleaned by hand. Using those salvaged bricks, the first Palm Harbor United Methodist Church was built in 1924. The bell in the church steeple was also rescued from the college. In the 1970s, the Methodists built a larger sanctuary in Palm Harbor, but the former church building continued to serve the community, becoming its first library and later a community food pantry. Pinellas County purchased the property in 1999, restored the church, and built the adjacent Harbor Hall. In 2005, this historic building was rededicated to Rheba Sutton, a life-long Palm Harbor resident who twice fought
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to stop demolition of the chapel.
Erected 2018 by Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1012.)
Location. 28° 4.624′ N, 82° 45.923′ W. Marker is in Palm Harbor, Florida, in Pinellas County. It is on Georgia Avenue east of 11th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1190 Georgia Avenue, Palm Harbor FL 34683, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Gulf Coast and on Tampa Bay. It is also in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 17, 2019
2. Rheba Sutton White Chapel Marker looking east toward chapel
Credits. This page was last revised on April 29, 2019. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2019, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,351 times since then and 91 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 27, 2019, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
