Richmond Heights is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous county in ...

, United States. The population was 8,944 at the 2020 census.

History

At the beginning of World War II, the United States Navy purchased of land in southwestern Dade (now called Miami-Dade) County for the purpose of constructing an airship base. The land was owned by the Richmond Timber Company, a major supplier of Dade County Pine (a denser, harder, sub-species of ''Pinus palustris'', or

longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

). The base was named

Naval Air Station Richmond The Naval Lighter Than Air Station Richmond was a South Florida military installation about south of Miami and west of US 1. It was an active air base during World War II. Since 1948, the University of Miami has used it as a research facility an ...

, after the lumber company, and was home to the 25 ships of ZP-21 (Patrol, Airship Squadron 21 and Airship Wing 2). NAS Richmond was the second largest airship base in the United States,

NAS Lakehurst Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), a United States Air Force-managed joint base headquartered approximately ...

in New Jersey being the largest. NAS Richmond was destroyed by a hurricane and fire in September 1945. After the end of World War II, Captain Frank C. Martin, a

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

erican pilot, purchased farmland adjacent to the base in rural southwest Dade County. With this purchase he created Richmond Heights, as a new community for returning

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 ...

veterans. Of the original he purchased in 1949, the federal government had used to build the headquarters of Naval Air Station Richmond, a

blimp A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...

base constructed in the early months of World War II Richmond, and was eventually home to 25 K-series blimps, three hangars, and 3,000 men. The hangars were 16 stories tall, built of

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

brought in by train. The blimps protected ship convoys in the

Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...

, and Richmond was the headquarters for the fight against

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s operating in the Caribbean.

Geography

Richmond Heights is located southwest of

downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...

at (25.633415, -80.372362). It is bordered to the north and east by Kendall, to the south by Palmetto Estates, and to the west by Three Lakes. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.93%, are water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 8,944 people, 2,748 households, and 2,219 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census

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 8,479 people, 2,653 households, and 2,101 families living in the CDP. The population density was . There were 2,771 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 12.45%

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 ...

(of which 3.4% were Non-Hispanic White,) 82.83%

, 0.22% Native American, 0.83%

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 ...

, 0.01%

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 ...

, 2.00% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.65% 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 12.47% of the population. In the Census of 2010, the figures have changed. There were 8,541 people, 2697 households, and 2127 family households living in the CDP. The racial makeup of the CDP was 22.8% White, 72.1% Black or African American; 2.3% belong to other races and 2.8 identified has belonging to more than one race. As of 2000, there were 2,653 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 30.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.16 and the average family size was 3.55. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,191, and the median income for a family was $44,095. Males had a median income of $31,286 versus $27,882 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 CDP was $15,824. About 14.0% of families and 15.1% 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 23.0% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over. As of 2000, speakers of English as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

accounted for 87.29% of residents, while

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

as a mother tongue made up 12.70% of the population.

Attractions

Annually, people travel back to Miami-Dade County to celebrate the Historic Weekend hosted by the Historic Society. The Richmond Heights 49ers was funded in part by a grant from the Florida Humanities Council, National Endowment of the Arts, Miami-Dade County Cultural Arts Department, and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Miami-Dade County, Florida Census-designated places in Florida