Port Richey is a city in

Pasco County Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. It is a suburban city included in the

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the United St ...

History

In 1883, Aaron M. Richey arrived from St. Joseph, Missouri, and settled near the mouth of the Pithlachascotee River. He established a post office in his home on July 9, 1884. Port Richey was incorporated as a municipality in 1925, in response to the incorporation of

New Port Richey New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History B ...

the previous year. The name Port Richey is older than the name New Port Richey, as the post offices were established in 1884 and 1915, respectively. Singer

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

owned a home along the Pithlachascotee River from 1979 until 2002. Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, inherited the house from Maybelle Carter after her death, and sold it in 2002 shortly before their deaths in 2003. The population of Port Richey has remained small, and proposals to abolish the city have gone before the voters several times. On February 21, 2019, Mayor Dale Massad was taken into custody by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with assistance from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and the local SWAT team on charges of practicing medicine without a license. He was later additionally charged with two counts of

attempt An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.''Criminal Law - ...

ed homicide for opening fire on officers as they attempted to serve the warrant. The next day, Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order to remove Massad from office. Just 3 weeks later, Acting Mayor Terrence Rowe was arrested for several charges, including obstruction of justice and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate the commission of a crime. The charges were described as an "offshoot" of the charges against Massad. DeSantis removed Rowe from office on March 20, which left the city with no one to serve as mayor. The three remaining members of city council were unable to agree on a replacement.

Geography

Port Richey is located at (28.274651, –82.723009). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (22.99%) is water. The City of Port Richey is served by the Port Richey Police Dept. and The Port Richey Fire Dept. Ambulance Service is provided by Pasco County Fire-Rescue. There is a hospital within walking distance of the fire department.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 3,021 people, 1,424 households, and 770 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,746 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.13%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.63%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.60% Native American, 1.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.36% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.88% of the population. There were 1,424 households, out of which 15.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non-families. 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.61. In the city, the population was spread out, with 14.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,404, and the median income for a family was $40,050. Males had a median income of $30,473 versus $22,139 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $20,711. About 9.1% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 34.6% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Gulf View Square Gulf View Square Mall is an enclosed mall in Port Richey, Florida. Opened in 1980, it is anchored by Best Buy & Dillard's Clearance Store and is owned by Namdar Realty Group. History Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation first proposed Gulf View Squar ...

, an enclosed shopping mall, is located north of Port Richey.

References

External links