Bertha Palmer Marker to be Dedicated Oct. 29

A black-and-white photo depicts Temple Terrace’s founder in white gloves, a feathery headpiece and a dress with exquisite details.

Now, the picture of Bertha Palmer adorns a historic marker in her honor that will be installed at the Woodmont Clubhouse and dedicated Oct. 29. The public is invited to attend.

Temple Terrace Mayor Joe Affronti and other dignitaries will speak at the ceremony, which begins at 5 p.m. Afterward, there will be a reception in the clubhouse.

Palmer was a Chicago socialite, art patron and businesswoman, but few people in Temple Terrace know much about her. That’s why the Temple Terrace Preservation Society created the marker in her honor. It’s similar to the one that was installed last year near Florida College for influential religious leader Billy Graham.

“The Temple Terrace Preservation Society is proud to be a part of helping create this historic plaque honoring Bertha Palmer,” said Tim Lancaster, president of the Preservation Society, in a City of Temple Terrace press release. “It is entirely appropriate, and long overdue, that we recognize Mrs. Palmer as a person of vision, whose pioneering spirit led to the creation of the beautiful master-planned golf course community that would eventually become the City of Temple Terrace.”

The Woodmont Clubhouse is the last remaining building from the Palmer-era in the early 1900s, according to the Preservation Society. The date of the ceremony marks the 33rd anniversary of the establishment of the Woodmont Clubhouse Association Inc., the organization that saved the building from destruction and turned the original structure from Palmer’s “Riverhills Ranch” (circa 1914) into a thriving non-profit community center.

According to the Preservation Society, the plaque is the only historic marker in Hillsborough County to include a photograph.

See also:
Historic Palmer Marker to be Dedicated to City
Historical Marker Will Honor Temple Terrace Founder