Pasco County, Florida
The story of New 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.
founding
How it started
- 1924
New Port Richey incorporated on 24 October 1924. Its first council act, on 2 December that year, was to accept a park donated by George Sims.
etymology
How it got its name
-
The younger, upriver twin of Port Richey, which had been named for the settler Aaron M. Richey.
industry
What it lived on
-
Speculation. The town rode the 1920s Florida land boom hard, courting wealthy residents and film people, and the boom's collapse ended the ambition.
claim to fame
What it is known for
- 1926
For a few years New Port Richey meant to be a Hollywood colony. The silent-film star Thomas Meighan built a house on the river in 1928 and wintered here, and a theatre named for him opened in 1926.
- 1927
In its boom years the town drew Thomas Meighan, Charlie Chaplin, Lupe Velez and Ann Harding, and was promoted as Hollywood East.
reported · New Port Richey, Florida
figure
Worth knowing
-
The silent film star Thomas Meighan built a large winter home in the town, and his brother James, a real estate developer, donated the land for the Hacienda Hotel.
reported · New Port Richey, Florida
landmark
What still stands
- 1924
Sims Park, accepted by the city council on 2 December 1924 and named for its donor, George Sims.
- 1926
The Meighan Theatre, opened in 1926 and named for the silent-film actor.
- 1926
The Meighan Theatre opened on 1 July 1926 with a screening of Thomas Meighan's film The New Klondike; Meighan sent a congratulatory telegram rather than attending.
reported · Richey Suncoast Theatre - Wikipedia
- 1927
The Hacienda Hotel opened on 5 February 1927 with the comedian Ed Wynn as master of ceremonies.
reported · Our History - The Historic Hacienda Hotel New Port Richey