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Pasco County, Florida
County in Florida, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pasco County is a county located on the west central coast in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2024, the population of the county was 656,851, making it the tenth-most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after United States senator Samuel Pasco.
Pasco County is included in the Tampa Bay Area and historically has been a bedroom community for the Tampa and St. Petersburg cities. It is 30 miles away from the city of Tampa. The county includes numerous parks and trails located along rivers, the Gulf of Mexico, lakes, and highway/railroad right-of-ways. Several nudist resorts are located in Pasco County. The county has become known as the "naturist capital of the United States", starting in 1941.
West Pasco includes retirement areas, commercial fishing, and suburbs of Tampa. The Suncoast Parkway as well as U.S. 19, U.S. 41, U.S. 98, U.S. 301, and Interstate 75 all pass through Pasco County. The county is directly west of Polk and Sumter counties, north of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and south of Hernando County.
Recent companies are creating major centers in the county, such as Moffit Cancer Center's Speros campus. They are expected to bring many jobs, changing the area.
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History
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Early history
Native settlement
The earliest known residents of Pasco County were the Timucuans Native American tribe who lived on the land in the early 1200s. Settlers in Florida brought diseases to the area though, wiping out the tribe.[3] Other Native American tribes like the Calusa also lived along the Gulf of Mexico in Pasco County. The tribe had a deep-rooted connection between the land and its inhabitants.[4]
Exploration
In the 1500s, Spanish explorers came into the Florida region, encountering with the Native American tribes. This started major cultural exchanges for the groups. Pasco County, at that point became a point of interest to the Spanish explorers because of its strategic coastal location.[4]
Seminole conflict
The Creek Native tribe from Georgia and Alabama migrated to Florida with one tribe becoming known as the Seminoles in the region. The tribe fought with the British against American settlers during the First Seminole War and had constant fighting with the Spanish until the buying of Florida to the United States in 1819. The United States military had major conflict with the Native Americans in the Second Seminole War that included the destruction of Fort Dade, of which Dade City is named after.[3]
Civil war
When Civil War broke out in 1861, Florida joined the Confederate States of America. Though Pasco County was too far to be changed by the war in much of the conflicts, men from Pasco County supported both sides of the conflict. The closest engagement of Pasco County soldiers was in Bayport, Hernando County, Florida.[3]
Founding
Pasco County was founded on June 2, 1887, from the southern third of Hernando County. The legislation was passed by former Governor Edward A. Perry to divide the former Hernando County into three counties.[5] The legislation also created Citrus County from the northern third of Hernando County. The county was named after Samuel Pasco, who had just been elected to the United States Senate,[6] though he never visited the county.[7]
Pasco County's early towns were Anclote, Blanton, Dade City, Earnestville, Fort Dade (not to be confused with Fort Dade on Egmont Key), Macon (Trilby), Lacoochee, St. Leo,[8] and San Antonio.[9][10]
Dade City was named the temporary county seat with the same legislation to make Pasco County. It stayed temporary until March 14, 1889, when W.B. Lynch got a petition with 320 signatures to hold an election for the county seat. The board accepted the petition with the election for April 11, 1889. On April 16, 1889, Dade city won with 432 votes of the 765.[5]
Citrus was an important industry when the county was formed in 1887.[11] Though, in December 1894 and then again in February 1895, temperatures fell throughout the state, in an event called The Great Freeze. Many citrus growers lost their crops from the freeze in Pasco County.[12]
20th Century changes
As early as 1914, 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.[13] Several large sawmills operated in the county in the early part of the 20th century.[14][15] The issue was finally resolved in 1979 with the construction of identical government centers in both Dade City and New Port Richey, now called West Pasco Government Center and East Pasco Government Center.[16]
Early train system
The SAL Tarpon Springs branch line from Tarpon Junction 14 miles west of Tampa to Elfers and thence to Newport Richey to New Port Richey lost its passenger service and became listed as freight only between 1932 and 1938.[17][18] The freight branch 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 had its last freight train on December 24, 1986, leaving the western half of the county without freight rail service.[19]
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad until 1957 ran the Southland through Trilby and Tarpon Springs, en route to St. Petersburg. The train was unusual for providing passenger service direct from Chicago (via the Pennsylvania), Cincinnati and Atlanta on a direct route through the western part of the Florida peninsula, bypassing Jacksonville.[20][21] The Seaboard Coast Line (a merged line from the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Coast Line) until 1971 ran a local train (the last passenger train for the region north of St. Petersburg and west of Dade City) through those towns from Jacksonville and Gainesville, bound for St. Petersburg.[22] Prior to the 1967 merger for the SCL that service had been the western branch of the ACL's Champion from New York City.[23] Until 1968 the SCL ran its Sunland from Washington, DC and Portsmouth, VA to Tampa.[24]
Land boom
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.[25] The county has experienced significant population growth since the 1970s, growing by over 600%.[26] The growth began along the Gulf coast but is now occurring most rapidly in areas north of Tampa.[27]
Recent history
Pasco County has historically been a bedroom community for Tampa and St. Petersburg.[28] Though, recent companies are constructing major centers in the county, such as Moffit Cancer Center's Speros campus, which is expected to bring over 11,000 jobs.[29]
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Geography
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pasco County has a total area of 868 square miles (2,250 km2), of which 747 sq mi (1,930 km2) is land and 122 sq mi (320 km2) (14.0%) is water.[30] It is located on the Florida Nature Coast and the Tampa Bay Area, being 30 miles north from the city of Tampa, and 50 miles west from Orlando.[3]
Topography and elevation
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There are six named mountains in Pasco County, with the highest mountain being Nursery Hill, which rises 246 feet (75 m).[31] Greer Hill, the third largest summit, has 66 homes and 120,000 square feet of office space on and around it.[32]
Pasco County has an average elevation of 59 feet (18 m). The western part of Pasco County is relatively flat,[33] and has tidal flats on the coast.[34] The lowest point of the county is −3.3 feet (−1.0 m). In the eastern areas there are hills, where elevations can reach between 100 and 300 feet above sea level. The rolling terrain appears especially around communities such as San Antonio and St. Leo.[33]
Bodies of water
Rivers
The Anclote[35] and Pithlachascotee rivers both run through Pasco County.[36] The two rivers have been flood-prone, and were watched during Hurricane Idalia in 2023.[37] The Anclote river also flooded during Hurricane Hermine in 2016, where it crested at 25.08 feet high in a major flood.[38]
Lakes
There are 70 lakes in Pasco County, with a total of about 6,250 acres (2,530 ha) of lake.[39] Hancock Lake is the largest lake in the county, covering 478 acres (193 ha). There are three state parks nearby to Hancock Lake.[40] The smallest lake, Little Moss Lake, in Pasco County only covers 2 acres (0.81 ha).[41]
Islands
Pasco County has four islands, which three of them are minor island sand bars. They tend to change shape with each tropical storm that blows through. One of the islands includes Anclote Key, which one of the Anclote Key Preserve State Park islands. The side of Anclote Key facing the mainland is composed of mangrove forest and grass marshland.[42] It is three miles off the coast[42][43] of Tarpon Springs and is only accessible by boat.[43]
Pasco County also has smaller a barrier island with four miles of beach covering it.[44]
Climate
The county has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and average temperatures in Dade City range from 59.2 °F in January to 82.1 °F in July and August while in Port Richey they range from 59.0 °F in January to 82.2 °F in August.[45]
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Demographics
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Race and population amount
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 561,891 people, 209,483 households, and 139,278 families residing in the county.[53] As of 2024, with a population of 656,851, Pasco County is the tenth-most populous county in Florida.[56]
Age, density, and income
In 2020, 20.3% of people were below 18 years old, 22.7% over 65, with the age median being 45. 48.3% of people were male and 51.7% female. The average family size in 2010 was about 3.00.[57] In 2025, the population density was 911 per square mile (328/km2).[56] 10.5% of people are in poverty as of 2023, with the average per capita personal income being $56,734 a person.[57]
Government and politics
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Though the county seat is in Dade City,[58][59] duplicate county government offices and court facilities are also located in the New Port Richey area on the west side of the county.[59]
The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) is the legislative and policy-making group of the county's government. Representatives from five different Pasco County districts are elected from throughout the county and serve four-year terms in BCC. The Board of County Commissioners creates policies through the adding of ordinances and adoption of resolutions.[60]
Election voting
Pasco County was a swing county for much of the 20th Century. It has supported Republicans in every election since 2004 when it supported George W. Bush before swinging more leftward in the 2008 election (though Democrat Barack Obama lost the county, it was only by less than 4 percent). Since then, the county has trended more Republican in every election.[62] Most recently in 2024, Donald Trump had 62% of the popular vote for the first time since 1984.[63]
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Transportation
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Aviation
- Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (ZPH)[65]
- Pilot Country Airport (X05)[66]
- Tampa North Aero Park (X39)[67]
- Hidden Lake Estates Airport (FA40, private airport near Moon Lake)[68]
Bus service
Pasco County Public Transportation provides several bus services throughout Pasco County.[69]
Routes
As of May 2025, GoPasco has 11 routes that serve many areas in the county.[70] Notable routes include Route 18, connecting up to the Pinellas County Bus System (PSTA) and Clearwater Jolley Trolley, Route 19, connecting up to the PSTA, Routes 20 and 21, connecting to Hernando County Transit (TheBus), and Route 54, taking you across the entire county and connecting to Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART).[71]
Railroads
CSX Transportation operates three freight rail lines within the county. Dade City and Zephyrhills are served by the Wildwood Subdivision. The other two lines include the Brooksville Subdivision which runs close to US 41 and the Vitis Subdivision, which runs southeast into Lakeland. Amtrak formerly provided passenger rail service to Dade City on that line, but the stop was terminated in late 2004.[72]
Major roads
Interstate 75 runs north and south across the eastern part of the county.[73] 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 (Exit 25), 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 to the south, 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 Boulevard) is the main south-to-north U.S. Highway through Central Pasco County. It enters the county from Lutz in Hillsborough County and serves as a commercial strip through most of Land O' Lakes. Further north the road becomes more rural, passing through Gowers Corner, and eventually enters Masaryktown at the Hernando County Line.
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) is the main south-to-north U.S. highway in eastern Pasco County. It enters the county from Hillsborough River State Park in Hillsborough County and becomes the main road in Zephyrhills, Clinton Heights, and Dade City. North of Dade City, the road runs through Trilacoochee and Trilby before it enters Ridge Manor in Hernando County at a bridge over the Withlacoochee River.
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) begins as a hidden state road along US 301 until it branches off to the northwest as a county road in Zephyrhills and runs parallel to US 301 until it reaches Dade City. From here it moves further to the west through Blanton and Jessamine, and after crossing over I-75 curves back north into rural Hernando County where it becomes CR 541.
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 is an east–west route that extends from SR 54 near Land O' Lakes, to just east of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and the new campus of Pasco–Hernando State College in Wesley Chapel. The road was constructed in 2002, and is planned, as of 2016[update], 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 (CR 587) (N)- Gunn Highway (CR 587) (S) is 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) is a major four to six lane county road in western Pasco County bypassing US 19 between southeast of Aripeka and Trinity.
Trinity Boulevard (CR 996)
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Public safety
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Sheriff's Office
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is the law enforcement agency responsible for Pasco County and is the county's largest law enforcement agency.[74] The Pasco County Jail is managed by the Pasco County Corrections Department.[75]
Pasco County Fire Rescue
Pasco County Fire Rescue (PCFR) provides fire protection and emergency medical services throughout the county. Pasco County Fire Rescue has 30 stations placed around Pasco County. Their headquarters, located in Land O' Lakes holds the administration, staff chief, public information, community risk reduction, and ambulance billing departments.[76] The ambulance billing department oversees all ambulance billing including Citrus County, and Hernando County fire rescue.[77]
Pasco County Fire Rescue also has a mobile integrated health program to help those after an overdose. The program can help patients with medical and dental needs, mental health and therapy, transportation to medical appointments, withdrawal management, counseling, and shelter/housing.[78] The agency has two arson investigators and three fire investigators that determine the origin and cause of fires throughout unincorporated Pasco County. Pasco County Fire Rescue conducts all fire inspections within the unincorporated portions of the county.[79]
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Education
Pasco County Schools
Public schools in the county are operated by Pasco County Schools.[80] The school board was founded in 1887, the year the county was founded, with Augustine H. Ravesies appointed as the county's first superintendent of schools.[81]
Today, it is the 48th largest school district in the United States compared to over 14,000 schools, and the 10th largest school district in Florida out of 67 schools.[82] As of the 2024-2025 school year, there were a total of 106 schools in Pasco County Schools.[83]
Colleges and universities
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Museums
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Aripeka Historical Museum
The Aripeka Historical Museum sits in the Aripeka Library and offers displays of chert and flint from Native Americans.[85]
Dade City Heritage and Cultural Museum
The Dade City Heritage and Cultural Museum sits in where the old Dade City Train Depot sat.[86]
Pioneer Florida Museum & Village
The Pioneer Florida Museum & Village sits in the former Trilby Depot, one-room school house, and a restored house from 1860. The museum offers displays of how the pioneers of Florida lived.[87]
Museum of Archaeology, Paleontology and Science Museum (MAPS)
The MAPS museum is located at Wendell Krinn Technical High School and offers artifacts from civilizations such as the Inca and Aztec.[88]
National Comedy Hall of Fame
The National Comedy Hall of Fame is located in Holiday, Florida. The museum offers memorabilia of comedians such as Jack Benny and Robin Williams.[89]
West Pasco Historical Society Museum and Library
Also called the Rao Musunuru, M.D. Museum & Library, the West Pasco Historical Society Museum and Library is located in Sims Park in New Port Richey, Florida. It offers sections such as Native American history and the history of New Port Richey.[90]
Zephyrhills Museum of Military History
the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History is located at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport and offers a vast collection of military planes and artifacts, mostly from World War II.[91]
Zephyrhills Train Depot Museum
The Zephyrhills Train Depot Museum sits on the 1927 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Zephyrhills, Florida. It offers a collection with a model train, and several displays.[92]
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Libraries
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Pasco County Library Cooperative
The Pasco County Library Cooperative (PCLC) is the public library system that serves residents of Pasco County.[93] It consists of eight branch libraries and one cooperative partner, the Zephyrhills Public Library.[94]
Pasco County Library Cooperative Libraries
- Centennial Park Branch Library[95]
- Hudson Library[96]
- Hugh Embry Branch Library[97]
- Land O' Lakes Branch Library[98]
- New River Branch Library[99]
- Regency Park Branch Library[100]
- Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center[101]
- South Holiday Branch Library[102]
- Zephyrhills Public Library (partner)[103]
New Port Richey Public Library
The New Port Richey Public Library[104] is located in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County. 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, it issues its own library cards. Cards are free for all Pasco County residents and for those who pay property taxes to the city of New Port Richey. Members of libraries which have reciprocal borrowing agreements with the NPR library are also issued free cards.[105]
Aripeka Library
While the Aripeka Library is small and is not a "public" library, it has over 5,000 books.[106] Being in the same building as the Aripeka Historical Museum,[85] volunteers work on it to keep it open and to maintain its connection to the area's history.[107]
Media
Pasco Films
Pasco Films is a movie production company based in Pasco County. Pharmboy is one of the produced films made by Pasco Films, which got funded by Pasco County Commissioners.[108] The movie was played at The Gasparilla International Film Festival in 2013, winning the audience award in the Narrative Feature category.[109]
Sets
A Pasco County home in Lutz, Florida was used as one of the main sets used in the movie Edward Scissorhands.[110][111] It is one of Tampa Bay's most famous cinematic homes.[111]
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Parks and recreation
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Pasco county has hundreds of recreational parks and activities, such as beaches, sports, historical, trails, playgrounds, recreational complexes and preserves. In total, Pasco County has 6,900 Acres of Environmentally Sensitive Land and 15,000 Acres of Park Land, Trails and Open Space.[112]
Many are operated by Pasco County themselves, but many are also city and state operated:
State Parks
The list of state parks in Pasco County:[113]
County Parks
The list of county parks in Pasco County:[114]
Preserves and Conservation Areas
Wilderness Parks
Trails
Pasco County has many trails, with over 65 miles of paved and 250 miles of unpaved trails in the county.[115] It also has 80 miles of designated blueways.[116]
Sports
Pasco County is in an area known as Florida’s Sports Coast[117] after it opened Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County in Wesley Chapel. It is 98,000 square feet, providing a new venue for sports.[118] Pasco County has over 24 provided different sports.[119]
Pasco County’s sports tourism agency said that visitors spent more than $636 million in fiscal year 2022 in Pasco County, up 24% from 2021 for sports.[120]
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Communities
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Pasco County's largest city is Zephyrhills,[3] a main location of the Zephyrhills water brand,[121] with over 22,000 population as of 2024. The 2025 estimate of Zephyrhills is 23,300.[122]
West Pasco County includes many commercial fishing, retirement areas, and suburbs of Tampa.[123]
Several nudist resorts are located in Pasco County. The county has become known as the "naturist capital of the United States", beginning with the development in 1941.[124]
Unincorporated communities
- Blanton
- Branchborough
- Darby
- Gulf Harbors
- Hudson Beach
- Jessamine
- Lumberton[158]
- Richland
- Seven Springs
- St. Joseph
- Starkey Ranch
- Trilacoochee
- Vitis
Notable people
Musicians
- Debbie Deb, freestyle singer; resides in New Port Richey[159]
- Johnny Cash, gospel and country singer; visited Port Richey[160]
- The Bellamy Brothers, country music duo known for the hit "Let Your Love Flow"; from Darby[161]
Other
- Brooke Magnanti, scientist and author of Secret Diary of a Call Girl; was born in New Port Richey[162]
- John Cena, actor and professional wrestler; resides in Land O' Lakes[163]
See also
Notes
References
External links
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