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Palm Harbor's White Chapel now officially historic

 
The Rheba Sutton White Chapel, in the Palm Harbor downtown area, has been recognized as a historic site by the state. [JEFF ROSENFIELD | Special to the Times]
The Rheba Sutton White Chapel, in the Palm Harbor downtown area, has been recognized as a historic site by the state. [JEFF ROSENFIELD | Special to the Times]
Published April 4, 2019

PALM HARBOR — The Rheba Sutton White Chapel in downtown Palm Harbor has enjoyed a long and storied history.

The building in historic downtown district starting as a college chapel in the early 1900s. After being destroyed by fire, it was resurrected from the ashes as the Palm Harbor Methodist Church, which served parishioners for nearly 50 years, from the mid-1920s to the early '70s.

Members of the Pinellas County Preservation Board recently held a ceremony to unveil a historic marker from the state of Florida honoring the Rheba Sutton White Chapel, at 1190 Georgia Ave., as a local historic site.

Previous coverage: Steinle: A solid future for Palm Harbor's historic White Chapel

"Constructed of bricks and an old bell from a building destroyed by fire, congregants first gathered in 1925 at this church, now known as the Rheba Sutton White Chapel," County Commissioner and Preservation Board Chairman Charlie Justice told the small crowd that included County Commissioner Dave Eggers and Rheba Sutton's son, Gary.

The Florida Methodist Conference College relocated its campus to Palm Harbor in 1902, after purchasing the San Marino Hotel. In 1904, the college built an administrative building, along with a 700-seat chapel, adjacent to the hotel; in 1921, a fire destroyed the main school building and the administration buildings.

Using bricks salvaged from the fire and a bell rescued from the ruins, volunteers built the first Palm Harbor Methodist Church on the site in 1924, and services were held there until 1971.

In 1999, the county bought the property and later built Harbor Hall, an adjacent reception and event facility. After the historic church was restored using a state grant, in 2003, the White Chapel was named in 2005 for Rheba Sutton, a longtime congregant who dedicated much of her life to the church.

"My mom was born in Palm Harbor and baptized in the church," Gary Sutton, who lives in Brooksville, said during the ceremony. "I would call her every Sunday and she would always tell me what's going on at the church. She loved this church.'