Palm Harbor was originally called Sutherland, a shortening of Southern Land and Development Company, the group that originally platted the community as Sutherland, Hillsborough County in 1888. The name was changed to Palm Harbor in 1925. Palm Harbor was 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 the 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. Palm Harbor was originally called Sutherland after a post office was granted in 1888, the same year the railroad came through. 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, the Rivieres, the Aldermans and the Wilsons. Palm Harbor also has a unique “hilly” geography which is uncommon in the relatively flat Florida.
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