The Cotee Port Richey, Florida

Pasco County, Florida

The story of Port Richey

Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.

US 19 Bridge; Port Richey to New Port Richey
US 19 Bridge; Port Richey to New Port Richey DanTD · CC BY-SA 3.0
  1. 1883Aaron Richey settles the river mouth
  2. 1925Incorporated
  3. 1979Cash buys the river house
The Pithlachascotee from its head to the Gulf, with the river houses marked.

founding

How it started

  • 1925

    Aaron M. Richey arrived from St. Joseph, Missouri and settled near the mouth of the Pithlachascotee River in 1883, opening a post office on 9 July 1884. The city incorporated in 1925, in response to New Port Richey incorporating the year before.

    Port Richey, Florida

etymology

How it got its name

  • The city is named for Aaron M. Richey, the settler who opened the post office at the river mouth.

    Port Richey, Florida

industry

What it lived on

  • The river made the place - the settlement began at its mouth, and the city still carries the motto On the Beautiful Pithlachascotee River.

    Port Richey, Florida

claim to fame

What it is known for

  • 1979

    Johnny Cash kept a house on the Pithlachascotee here from 1979 until 2002.

    Port Richey, Florida

landmark

What still stands

  • The Pithlachascotee River, the city's original reason for being and the feature its motto names.

    Port Richey, Florida

  • Gulf View Square, the enclosed shopping mall just north of the city.

    Port Richey, Florida