Tarpon Springs in Pinellas County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs
Photographed by Quinton Spiaggi, February 22, 2025
1. Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs Marker
Inscription.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs. . The church before you traces its beginnings to 1885 when Rev. Henry D. L. Webster, Anson P. K. Safford, and John K. Cheyney, organized the Universalist Church of the Good Shephard, one of the earliest churches in Tarpon Springs. A wood church was constructed on East Tarpon and Safford Avenues. When that building was destroyed by a disastrous town fire in 1908, the congregation relocated and built a block church in the Romanesque Revival style constructed by G. E. Noblit. In 1918, a hurricane blew out three windows of the church and they were replaced by three panels especially painted by artist, George Inness, Jr. These were the first of twelve Inness Jr. paintings displayed in the church. In 1961, the church became the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs. Through the years, modifications and additions changed the appearance of the building until 2013 when sinkhole damage created the opportunity to restore the original building and properly display the paintings. Six years of extensive work, and just over 100 years from the day of the hurricane and the beginning of the Inness Jr. collection, the church formally reopened in September 2019.
The church before you traces its beginnings to 1885 when Rev. Henry D. L. Webster, Anson P. K. Safford, and John K. Cheyney, organized the Universalist Church of the Good Shephard, one of the earliest churches in Tarpon Springs. A wood church was constructed on East Tarpon and Safford Avenues. When that building was destroyed by a disastrous town fire in 1908, the congregation relocated and built a block church in the Romanesque Revival style constructed by G. E. Noblit. In 1918, a hurricane blew out three windows of the church and they were replaced by three panels especially painted by artist, George Inness, Jr. These were the first of twelve Inness Jr. paintings displayed in the church. In 1961, the church became the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs. Through the years, modifications and additions changed the appearance of the building until 2013 when sinkhole damage created the opportunity to restore the original building and properly display the paintings. Six years of extensive work, and just over 100 years from the day of the hurricane and the beginning of the Inness Jr. collection, the church formally
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reopened in September 2019.
Erected 2023 by City of Tarpon Springs, Tarpon Springs Area Historical Society.
Location. 28° 8.938′ N, 82° 45.54′ W. Marker is in Tarpon Springs, Florida, in Pinellas County. It is on Grand Boulevard, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 230 Grand Boulevard, Tarpon Springs FL 34689, 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.
Photographed by Quinton Spiaggi, February 22, 2025
2. Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on March 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 11, 2025, by Quinton Spiaggi of Palm Harbor, Florida. This page has been viewed 196 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on March 11, 2025, by Quinton Spiaggi of Palm Harbor, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
