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    New Port Richey
    New Port Richey
    New Port Richey
    Ebook167 pages34 minutes

    New Port Richey

    By Adam J. Carozza

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    New Port Richey, Florida, like many cities between Jacksonville and Tampa, can thank Henry Plant's 1885 railroad for its phenomenal growth. Thirty-five miles northwest of Tampa, in West Pasco County, New Port Richey eventually hosted its own railway connection right through downtown. City planners constructed the community in a grid, naming north-south streets after Presidents and east-west streets after states. The arrival of the U.S. Post Office in 1915 confirmed this city's importance and put New Port Richey on the map. Hotels, banks, and businesses sprang up in the downtown area to serve those who came in search of a better life. Fishing on the Pithlachascotee River and in the Gulf of Mexico attracted many visitors, as did the construction of golf courses. Businessmen then and now recognized that this area had "that special something" to catch the attention and the hearts of people from all states north of Florida.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439629550
    New Port Richey
    Author

    Adam J. Carozza

    Adam J. Carozza is a retired U.S. Postal Service employee, a member of the West Pasco Historical Society, and a member of the Florida Historical Society. He is a local historian and graduate student at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, with a commitment to sharing the past in Images of America: New Port Richey. His passion for New Port Richey's history complements over 200 vintage photographs to chart the rise of this unique west-central Florida city.

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      Book preview

      New Port Richey - Adam J. Carozza

      area.

      INTRODUCTION

      When even the memory of this people (the Calusas) is forgotten, the Great Spirit will give this land to another—a strange but noble people made up of every tongue yet speaking the same language from the East and the West, from the North and the South they shall come, and they shall possess the land on the banks of this river of beauty and enchantment, and they shall dwell here in numbers greater than the number of the palm leaves that rustle in the evening breezes, the river a winding length even from the Trident Palm to the broken altar of Toya by the sea. And they shall remain here always in peace and happiness.

      –Mucoshee, last Calusa warrior chief

      In 1883, Aaron McLaughlin Richey came from St. Joseph, Missouri, to visit an old friend who lived in Brooksville, Florida. That friend, James Washington Clark, was one of the early pioneers of the area. He owned land on the Gulf Coast where he had lived before moving to Brooksville. The two friends decided to travel to the coast, where fishing was excellent and game plentiful. Upon arriving and setting up camp on the Clark holdings, Mr. Richey decided this was the place for him. He thought that the sunshine and warm climate would be just the thing for his ailing wife and an ideal spot to rear his children. Richey negotiated with a man by the name of Felix Sowers, who had an orange grove and some cleared land, to buy the point of land at the mouth of the river. It was here that he established his home, in a small weather-beaten house overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Richey soon found that the best and fastest method of transportation to ports along the Gulf was by water. With an eye to commerce and transportation, he soon had a schooner built in Cedar Key. When the schooner was delivered, Richey found it necessary to have it registered, giving it the name of its homeport. There being no specific name for the place where it would be moored, he simply called it Port Richey, a name that would remain for one of the most beautiful places on the coast. This was the beginning of not only Port Richey, but the newer and larger city of New Port Richey, which was settled shortly after. Later, New Port Richey would incorporate in 1924, one year before Port Richey.

      Before the Civil War, orange groves and cattle ranches were abundant in Pasco County. Most of the cattle of this area were exported to Cuba until the Civil War, when they were needed to supply the Confederate Army. Pasco County also developed into a major citrus-producing center. In addition, a nearby salt works at Salt Springs supplied the substance to the local residents, as well as the Confederate Army. It was a valuable commodity used to preserve meats before the advent of refrigeration.

      At the turn of the 20th century, New Port Richey was a planned community designed for people of means. The city planners attempted to attract tourists with the hope of turning them into residents. Hotels were built and advertisements were posted as far north as New York. Fishing was one of the main attractions in the area. In time, golf courses and theaters would also be built. Banks, drug stores, and various shops opened along Main Street and the Boulevard.

      The Chasco Fiesta remains one of the largest attractions to lure people to downtown New Port Richey. Started as a small event in 1922, it has now become a huge fund-raiser for many philanthropic causes. The annual festivities were derived from a myth about a Spanish boy and girl captured by the Calusa Indians. After acceptance into the tribe, they were later wed as Queen Chasco and King Pithla. Legend has

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