Post by wiccanvixen on Dec 11, 2008 21:34:33 GMT -4
Ozona and Palm Harbor, on the coast just north of Dunedin, have interesting histories. Both Ozona and Palm Harbor were originally settled by J.C. Craver. According to Craver's diary, still in the family, he came here in the winter of 1877 upon the advice of his physician. A post office commission under the name of Bay St. Joseph was granted in 1878, this being the earliest written record of either community. The name Bay St. Joseph was used only a short time before Yellow Bluff replaced it. But that name proved relatively short-lived, as a few years later its negative connotation with the yellow fever epidemic gave way to its present name Ozona , meaning "pure air." Palm Harbor was originally called Sutherland after a post office was granted in 1888, the same year the railroad came through (the name was switched to Palm Harbor in 1925 - Editor). Sutherland boasted two beautiful hotels, the larger one becoming Southern College in 1902. It sat high on the bluff overlooking Sutherland Bayou and the Gulf of Mexico. Sutherland was thought to be named after Duke of Sutherland, who visited these parts after landing at Tarpon Springs in 1887. Local pioneers dismiss this coincidence, pointing out that the name Sutherland is a shortening of Southern Land and Development Company, the group which originally platted the community in 1888. Areas pioneers included the Whitehursts, the Hollands, the Tinneys, the Suttons, the Thompsons, and the Wilsons.