The Hartley House/ Palm Harbor Museum

SIDE ONE: In 1883, Walton and Louisa Whitehurst sold 80 acres of their land in Curlew to James Hartley. He and his wife, Frances, had recently moved from Danforth, Illinois with their son, Thomas. They later joined Curlew Methodist Church, which was founded in 1869 and remains a Palm Harbor landmark.

Thomas W. Hartley lived in the area until his death in 1955. He built this house, tended an orange grove, and made wooden ladders for pruning and picking citrus. Thomas was ordained in 1890 and served as a “roving preacher” on a circuit from Tarpon Springs to Anona. He was elected Justice of the Peace for the 4th District of Hillsborough County in 1893 and served for 11 years.

In 1899, Thomas married Ida Stanton and they had four children: Lucy, Clarine, Leonard, and Orion. Ida managed the household and sold guava jelly to boost family income. Work on the house began in 1914 and took 5 years to complete. The rusticated concrete blocks were cast on site in a mail-order mold they purchased from Sears, Roebuck & Company.

Local lumber was used for floors and framing, and a cellar was dug beneath the kitchen. The home was a place travelers could rest along the trail to Tampa, today known as Curlew Road. SIDE TWO: The house remained in the Hartley family until 1961 and remained a private residence until 1996, when it was purchased by Pinellas County to make way for the Belcher Road extension.

The significant history of the Hartley House sparked a move to save the building, designate it as a Pinellas County landmark, and make it a permanent home for the area’s history. It was leased by the county to the Palm Harbor Historical Society, Inc., and opened as a museum in 1998. The organization received a Cultural Facilities grant in 2016 from the Florida Department of State to renovate the house to showcase local history exhibits.

Historical Society volunteers maintain Palm Harbor Museum as a repository for artifacts and documents pertaining to the unincorporated areas of northern Pinellas County including the communities of Curlew, Crystal Beach, East Lake, Ozona, Palm Harbor, and Wall Springs. As these settlements lose their unique identities to urban sprawl, landmarks such as the Hartley House serve as a reminder of the small communities which gave Palm Harbor its modern character.