Palm Harbor Museum celebrates dedication of Historical Marker for its historic Harley House July 19

You are invited to attend Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board's ribbon cutting for Palm Harbor Museum's Hartley House Historical Marker on Saturday, July 19 at 10 AM, hosted by volunteers at Palm Harbor Museum. Commissioner Brian Scott, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners and Chair of the Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board, serves as Master of Ceremonies for this dedication.

The Florida Historical Marker Program is among the Florida Division of Historical Resources' most popular and visible statewide public history programs, having the intention to provide awareness of Florida's rich cultural history and to enhance the enjoyment of publicly accessible historic sites and attractions. 

This marker was the result of a ten years-long process in which volunteers from Palm Harbor Historical Society, Inc. partnered with Pinellas County historians to research and author the text and apply for approval from the Florida Department of State Division of Historical Resources. 

For the more than 60,000 residents of the Palm Harbor area, Palm Harbor Historical Society (PHHS), which operates Palm Harbor Museum, is dedicated solely to collect, preserve and share the rich historical heritage of The Palm Harbor region that includes Downtown Palm Harbor (formerly Sutherland), Crystal Beach, East Lake, Curlew, Indian Bluff Island, Ozona and Wall Springs. 

From the 1960s, local residents, passionate to preserve the region’s heritage, began to collect photos, records, journals, genealogies, furnishings, and local histories—archiving, storing, and at times displaying these items in donated local homes and businesses. 

Forming Palm Harbor Historical Society in 1983, they saw a breakthrough in 1994 as county commissioners approved the Palm Harbor Historic District. With the expansion of Belcher Road, Pinellas County acquired the historic Hartley House (built by Thomas Hartley beginning in 1914), giving care of its site at the corner of Curlew and Belcher Roads to PHHS—which renovated and opened it as Palm Harbor Museum in 1998.

Please join the celebration of this milestone in the historic record of our region. All who attend will have an opportunity to obtain a keepsake hand fan, provided as the result of a generous donation from a museum patron, to commemorate this occasion.