Port Richey is a city in Pasco County,

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.

History

In 1883, Aaron M. Richey arrived from St. Joseph, Missouri, and settled near the mouth of the

Pithlachascotee River The Pithlachascotee River, often called the Cotee or "Cootie" River, is a blackwater river in Pasco County, Florida. Originating near Crews Lake, the river flows for over U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flo ...

. 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 owned a home along the Pithlachascotee River from 1979 until 2002. Cash and his wife,

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...

, inherited the house from

Maybelle Carter "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument". It ...

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 The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities and ...

with assistance from the

Pasco County Sheriff's Office The Pasco County Sheriff's Office (PSO) is the law enforcement agency responsible for Pasco County, Florida. It is the largest law enforcement agency within the county, and serves as a full service law enforcement and detention agency for the over ...

and the local SWAT team on charges of practicing medicine without a license. He was later additionally charged with two counts of attempted homicide for opening fire on officers as they attempted to serve the warrant. The next day, Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...

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 t ...

, 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 in ...

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 o ...

, 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, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.36% 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 1.13% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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

References

External links