Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History In 1883, Aaron M. Richey arrived from St. Joseph, Missouri, and settled near the mouth of the Pithlachascotee River. He established a post office in his home on July 9, 1884. Port Richey was incorporated as a municipality in 1925, in response to the incorporation of New Port Richey the previous year. The name Port Richey is older than the name New Port Richey, as the post offices were established in 1884 and 1915, respectively. Singer Johnny Cash owned a home along the Pithlachascotee River from 1979 until 2002. Cash and his wife June Carter Cash inherited the house from Maybelle Carter after her death, and they sold it in 2002 shortly before their deaths in 2003. The population of Port Richey has remained small, and proposals to abolish the city have gone before the voters several times. On February 21, 2019, Mayor Dale Massad was taken into custody by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with assistance from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and the local SWAT team on charges of practicing medicine without a license. He also later was charged with two counts of attempted homicide for opening fire on officers as they attempted to serve the warrant. The next day, Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order to remove Massad from office. Three weeks later, Acting Mayor Terrence Rowe was arrested for several charges, including obstruction of justice and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate the commission of a crime. The charges were described as an "offshoot" of the charges against Massad. DeSantis removed Rowe from office on March 20, which left the city with no one to serve as mayor. The three remaining members of city council were unable to agree on a replacement. Geography Port Richey is located at (28.274651, –82.723009). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (22.99%) is water. The City of Port Richey is served by the Port Richey Police Dept. and The Port Richey Fire Dept. Ambulance Service is provided by Pasco County Fire-Rescue. There is a hospital within walking distance of the fire department. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 3,021 people, 1,424 households, and 770