Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: 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.