Pasco County, Florida

History

Pasco County was created on June 2, 1887, from the southern third of Hernando County. The same legislation also created Citrus County from the northern third of Hernando County. The county was named for Samuel Pasco, who had just been elected to the United States Senate. Dade City was named the temporary county seat until a popular vote was held in 1889, at which time voters made Dade City the permanent county seat. As early as 1917, residents of the western part of the county proposed forming a separate county or merging with Pinellas County, as Dade City was not centrally located in the county. The issue was finally resolved in the late 1970s with the construction of identical government centers in both Dade City and New Port Richey.

The earliest towns were Anclote, Blanton, Dade City, Earnestville, Fort Dade (not to be confused with Fort Dade on Egmont Key), Macon (Trilby), Lacoochee, Saint Leo, and San Antonio. Citrus was an important industry when the county was formed, although a decline followed a freeze in 1895. Several large sawmills operated in the county in the early part of the twentieth century. During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, New Port Richey became the winter home of silent screen star Thomas Meighan and golfer Gene Sarazen; Meighan attempted to bring other Hollywood figures to the city. The county has experienced significant population growth since the 1960s. The growth began along the Gulf coast but is now occurring most rapidly in areas north of Tampa.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 868 square miles (2,250 km²), of which 747 square miles (1,930 km²) is land and 122 square miles (320 km²) (14.0%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 344,765 people, 147,566 households, and 99,016 families residing in the county. The population density was 463 people per square mile (179/km²). There were 173,717 housing units at an average density of 233 per square mile (90/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.70% White, 2.07% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.52% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. 5.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 147,566 households out of which 23.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the county, the population was spread out with 20.20% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 26.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,969, and the median income for a family was $39,568. Males had a median income of $30,974 versus $23,802 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,439. About 7.60% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.20% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Though the county seat is in Dade City, duplicate county government offices and court facilities are also located in the New Port Richey area on the west side of the county. The county has been a swing area over the past quarter century.

Aviation

Bus service

Pasco County Public Transportation provides bus service in West Pasco, Dade City and Zephyrhills.

Railroads

CSX operates three rail lines within the county. Dade City and Zephyrhills are served with a line from Plant City. Amtrak formerly provided passenger rail service to Dade City on that line, but the stop was terminated in late 2004. The other two lines include the Brooksville Subdivision which runs close to US 41 and the Vitis Subdivision, which runs southeast into Lakeland.

Notable abandoned railroad lines include a former branch of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad northwest of Trilacoochee (formerly Owensboro Junction) that became part of the Withlacoochee State Trail, a segment of the a Seaboard Air Line Railroad branch stretching from Zephyrhills to Trilacoochee, another line along the east side of US 301 that spanned from Sulphur Springs to Zephyrhills, part of the Orange Belt Railway which became the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad which ran from St. Petersburg and entered the county in what is today Trinity to Trilby (abandoned during the early-to-mid 1970s), and a branch of the Seaboard Air Line that ran through Holiday, Elfers and into New Port Richey. This line was truncated to Elfers in 1943. The tracks from Elfers and Chemical (an industrial area in the extreme southwest part of the county along the Anclote River west of Holiday) to Tarpon Springs were removed in the late 1980s leaving the western half of the county without rail service.

Major roads

Education

Public schools in the County are operated by Pasco County Schools.

Pasco County has seen explosive growth in its student enrollment, increasing from 46,458 students in the 1999-2000 year to 65,126 in the 2007-2008 year, an increase of 18,668 or 40.2%. The projected enrollment for the 2007-2008 was 64,674, so the actual enrollment was 452 students over the projection. Yearly, the school district has grown 2,489 or 5.4%, which leads to building one new school a year. The enrollment in 2017 is up to 73,538.

Special education centers

Private schools

Colleges and universities

Pasco County Library Cooperative

The Pasco County Library Cooperative (PCLC) is the public library system that serves all residents of Pasco County, Florida. It consists of seven branch libraries and one cooperative partner, the Zephyrhills Public Library. The Pasco County Libraries operate on a budget of $6,344,041 for fiscal year 2016. Pasco Libraries circulated 1,195,649 items for fiscal year 2016; up-to-date statistical information can be found on their website at: http://www.pascolibraries.org/stats/. The head of library services reports to the Assistant County Administrator for Public Services.

Pasco County Library Cooperative Libraries

New Port Richey Public Library

The New Port Richey Public Library is located in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County. This particular library is unique in that it is the only public library in Pasco County that is not a part of the Pasco County Library Cooperative. Since the library is independent the library issues its own library cards. Library cards are free for all Pasco County residents and for those who pay property taxes to the city of New Port Richey. Those who are apart of libraries that are in reciprocal borrowing agreements with the NPR library are also issued a card for free.

The NPR library is also in agreement with Pasco County libraries regarding book returns. PCLC members may return books from other Pasco County libraries to the NPR library and vice versa. The books are then returned via courier. This may take up to 2 to 3 weeks to be received at the lending library thus items will remain "checked out" until the lending library receives them. Inter-library Loans (ILL) that are checked out at the NPR library are not permitted to be returned to other libraries outside or in the Pasco County area. These materials must be returned at the New Port Richey Public Library.

There are many current services and programs offered at the NPR library. These programs range from adult programs and services to their weekly Tasty Tuesday and Community Garden market. Youth programs are abundant and in constant demand. Slowly the New Port Richey Library is acquiring more programs and classes for their members. Recently, the library had received and has put into circulation their Wi-Fi hotspots. These hotspots are in high demand which has prompted the librarians to order more Wi-Fi hotspots in the future.

Parks and recreation

Recreational areas include Hudson Beach, The New Port Richey Recreation & Aquatic Center, Veterans Memorial Park, J. Ben Harrill Recreation Complex F/K/A Holiday Rec Complex, the Jay Starkey Preserve, Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park, a section of the Suncoast Trail, a section of the Withlacoochee State Trail, Conner Preserve, Cypress Creek Preserve, Withlacoochee River Park, and Crews Lake Wilderness Park. Kayaking, canoeing, sailing, power boating, jet skiing, and fishing are popular along the coast and large tracts are preserved from development.

Environmental lands acquired for preservation include: Aripeka Sandhills Preserve, Boy Scout Preserve, Cypress Creek Preserve, Pasco County, Jumping Gully Preserve, Pasco Palms Preserve, Tierra Del Sol Preserve and Upper Pithlachascotee River Preserve.

Cities

Town

Unincorporated communities

Famous Pasco Countians