Pasco County, Florida

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Pasco County, Florida

Location in the state of Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Seat	Dade City
Area - Total - Land - Water	868 sq mi (2,248 km²) 745 sq mi (1,930 km²) 123 sq mi (319 km²), 14.18%
Population^Est. - (2006) - Density	462,715 464/sq mi (179/km²)
Founded	June 2, 1887
Website	www.pascocountyfl.net

Pasco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 344,765. The July 1, 2007 census estimate according to the U.S. Census Bureau for the county is 462,715.^[1] Its county seat is Dade City, Florida^[2] which is in the northeast part of the county - somewhat removed from the main centers of population in the western half of the county. Duplicate county government offices and court facilities are also located in the New Port Richey area on the west side of the county. It is the 38th fastest growing county in the country with a 30.6% increase and has grown by 105,403 residents since the year 2000. Pasco, along with Hernando, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties, comprise the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[edit] History

Pasco County was created on June 2, 1887, from the southern third of Hernando County. The same legislation also created Citrus Country from the northern third of Hernando County. According to Horgan et al. (1992), the sponsors of the bill originally proposed the name 'Banner' (which was chosen by citizens of the area), but the bill was rejected. The sponsors then changed the name to Pasco (after Samuel Pasco, who had just been elected to the United States Senate). The legislature passed the revised bill unanimously.

The earliest towns were Anclote, Blanton, Dade City, Earnestville, Fort Dade, Macon (Trilby), Lacoochee 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.

Pasco County, with its accommodating laws, is home to a number of Florida's nudist parks and resorts. While there is not a clothing-optional beach in the county, there are no fewer than 8 nudist parks. The oldest is Lake Como Club just north of Tampa, while a world-class resort known as Caliente, was opened several years ago, The nudist industry and its related tourism is a significant source of tax revenue for the county.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 868 square miles (2,248 km²), of which, 745 square miles (1,929 km²) of it is land and 123 square miles (319 km²) of it (14.18%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent counties

	Hernando County	Sumter County
Gulf of Mexico
	Pasco County, Florida

Pinellas County	Hillsborough County	Polk County

Pasco County is served by US-19 on the western edge, US-41 in the center of the county and US-301 on the east side. The Suncoast Parkway also known as FL-589 (toll) bisects the county from north to south. Rapid commercial and residential growth has resulted along the Suncoast with its easy access to Tampa and Tampa International Airport.

The county is served by the CSX railroad, A branch to Brooksville roughly parallels US-41 while Dade City and Zephyrhills are served with service from Plant City. New Port Richey and Elfers on the west coast were served by Seaboard Air Line which became the Seaboard Coast Line. The tracks to New Port Richey were removed in 1943 and cut back to Elfers and Chemical (an industrial area). The tracks from Elfers and Chemical to Tarpon Springs were removed in the late 1980's leaving the western half of the county without rail service.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] 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.

[edit] Municipalities

[edit] Incorporated

Incorporated municipalities of Pasco County. Numbers correspond to list at left.

City of Dade City
City of New Port Richey
City of Port Richey
City of San Antonio
Town of St. Leo
City of Zephyrhills

[edit] Unincorporated

County map from http://www.census.gov

[edit] Unincorporated communities not CDPs

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Aviation

Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (ZPH) website
Pilot Country Airport (X05) website
Tampa North Aero Park (X39) website
Hidden Lake Estates Airport (FA40, private airport near Moon Lake) website

[edit] Bus service

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

[edit] Railroads

CSX operates three rail lines within the county. Amtrak formerly provided passenger rail service to Dade City, but the stop was terminated in late 2004.^[4]

[edit] Major roads

Interstate 75 runs north and south across the eastern part of the county. Once a major connecting point with Tampa, I-75 has been made obsolete for western residents of the county by the Suncoast Parkway.
Suncoast Parkway enters the county in the south halfway between Gunn Highway and US 41, and ends in the far northern part of the county at County Line Road (Exit 37), The Suncoast Parkway is a recently-constructed toll road that connects Pasco County with Hillsborough County, where it becomes the Veterans Expressway and heads directly into Tampa International Airport before reaching Interstate 275. SR 589 has four Pasco County exits: SR 54 (Exit 19), Ridge Road Extension (Future Exit 24), SR 52 (Exit 27), and County Line Road(Exit 37).
U.S. Route 19 is a major commercial center running beside to the Gulf of Mexico on the western edge of the county, and used as a primary connecting route to cities down the west coast of Florida, including Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg, as well as Spring Hill, Weeki Wachee, Homosassa and Crystal River to the north.
Alternate 19 is a former section of US 19 that runs closer to the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas and southern Pasco County than US 19.
U.S. Route 41 (Land O' Lakes Bouelvard)
U.S. Route 98 runs northwest and southeast from Hernando County to Polk County. Concurrent with US 301 between Trilacoochee and Clinton Heights.
U.S. Route 301(Fort King Highway/Gall Boulevard)
State Road 39 runs northwest and southeast from Plant City into US 301 in Zephyrhills
County Road 41 (Fort King Highway/17th Street/21st Street/Blanton Road)
County Line Road (CR 578) is a major county road running entirely along the border with Hernando County beginning at US 19, intersects the Suncoast Parkway, and ends at US 41. Due to increased congestion, it is planned to be upgraded from two to four lanes, and possibly upgraded from a county road to a state road.
State Road 52 (Colonel Schrader Memorial Highway) an east-west route that runs primarily through the center of the county from US 19 in Bayonet Point to US 98-301 in Dade City.
State Road 54 (Gunn Highway/Fifth Avenue) another east-west road that runs through southern Pasco County, from US 19 near Holiday to US 301 in Zephyrhills.
State Road 56 a 2002-constructed road between SR 54 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Wesley Chapel. Planned to be extended to US 301 south of Zephyrhills.
State Road 575 the northernmost state road in Pasco County.
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard
Rowan Road/East Lake Road (CR 77)
Dale Mabry Highway
Moon Lake Road/Decubellis Road/Massachusetts Avenue (Pasco CR 587) (N)
Gunn Highway (CR 587) (S) A short north and south extension of Gunn Highway(SR 54) that runs through Northern Hillsborough County towards Dale Mabry Highway and Busch Boulevard.
Little Road (CR 1) Major four to six lane county road in western Pasco County bypassing US 19 between southeast of Aripeka and Trinity.
Trinity Boulevard(Pasco-Pinellas CR 996)

[edit] 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. [1] [2] Yearly, the school district has grown 2,489 or 5.4%, which leads to building one new school a year.

[edit] Colleges / universities

[edit] References

^ http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2007-01-12.xls
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ "St. Petersburg Times". Loss of Amtrak service shouldn't derail Dade City. http://www.sptimes.com/2004/10/29/Pasco/Loss_of_Amtrak_servic.shtml. Retrieved 2004-10-29.

History of Pasco County (1943) by Jefferson Alexis Hendley.
Horgan, James J., Alice F. Hall, and Edward J. Herrmann, The Historic Places of Pasco County, Pasco County Historical Preservation Committee, Pasco County, Florida.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pasco County, Florida

[edit] Government links/Constitutional offices

[edit] Special districts

[edit] Judicial branch

[edit] Tourism links

[edit] Other sites

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Pasco County, Florida

County seat: Dade City

Cities	Dade City \| New Port Richey \| Port Richey \| San Antonio \| Zephyrhills

Town	St. Leo

CDPs	Bayonet Point \| Beacon Square \| Crystal Springs \| Dade City North \| Elfers \| Holiday \| Hudson \| Jasmine Estates \| Lacoochee \| Land O' Lakes \| New Port Richey East \| Odessa \| Shady Hills \| Trinity \| Wesley Chapel \| Wesley Chapel South \| Zephyrhills North \| Zephyrhills South \| Zephyrhills West

Unincorporated communities	Aripeka \| Gulf Harbors \| Hudson Beach \| Trilby

v • d • e Tampa Bay Area

Topics	Tampa Bay · Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Tampa Bay Rays · Tampa Bay Lightning · Tampa International Airport · Ybor City · Cigars · Hillsborough County Schools · University of South Florida · Climate of the Tampa Bay Area

Central cities	Tampa · St. Petersburg · Clearwater · Lakeland

Suburbs over 200	Pinellas Park · Temple Terrace · Brandon · Zeyphrhills · Plant City · Largo · Dunedin · Tarpon Springs · Lake Wales · Winter Haven · Bartow · Polk City · Lutz · Greater Sun Center

Satellite cities	Bradenton · Sarasota · Kissimmee · Brooksville · Orlando · Naples · Ocala

Region	Tampa Bay Area · Central Florida · Sun Coast

Outlying regions	Southwest Florida · Florida Heartland · Big Bend · Fun Coast

Counties in MSA	Hernando · Hillsborough · Pasco · Pinellas

Counties in CSA	Citrus · Manatee · Sarasota

See also: Florida