True to its name, the Palm Harbor Historical Society made a bit of history this week.
In a ceremony Wednesday, members of the group and guests placed the first of a planned series of historical plaques on the side of a local old building.
The building at 1001 Omaha Circle, constructed in 1896, is "among the oldest in the downtown area," said Winona Jones, curator of the Palm Harbor Historical Museum and a member of the Historical Society board of directors.
Currently, the building is the home of Geographic Solutions, a one-stop computer service for people looking for, among other things, jobs; employers seeking employees; training programs; social programs and financial assistance. The services are integrated together via the Internet.
Although the owner, Paul Toomey, offers information for today's technological world, he said he is pleased to able to do so from a facility with historical significance.
The Historical Society will place similar plaques on 10 other old buildings in the local historical district, its president, Doreen Prucha, said in an interview Thursday. The others will be placed as funds to purchase them become available.
"We want to point out to residents and visitors the significant number of buildings within a small area of the community," Prucha said.
Toomey's facility was built to house the general store of Reedon "Red" Hill. Many of the customers were students at Sutherland College, which was a few blocks north of the store, Prucha said. “He sold pencils, papers, and other items students used at the college.”
When the college was destroyed by fire in the 1920s and relocated to Lakeland, business at the general store feel off and Hill sold it. It still is known, however, as the Hill Building.
After the general store, the building went through a variety of uses, including antiques, gifts, furniture, and as an art gallery, Jones said.
The plaque is brass and will outlast many other types of material, Jones said. It is mounted near the front door.
Article originally published by the Suncoast News.