Book excerpt: New Port Richey, Florida, like many cities between Jacksonville and Tampa, can thank Henry Plant's 1885 railroad for its phenomenal growth. Thirty-five miles northwest of Tampa, in West Pasco County, New Port Richey eventually hosted its own railway connection right through downtown. City planners constructed the community in a grid, naming north-south streets after Presidents and east-west streets after states. The arrival of the U.S. Post Office in 1915 confirmed this city's importance and put New Port Richey on the map. Hotels, banks, and businesses sprang up in the downtown area to serve those who came in search of a better life. Fishing on the Pithlachascotee River and in the Gulf of Mexico attracted many visitors, as did the construction of golf courses. Businessmen then and now recognized that this area had "that special something" to catch the attention and the hearts of people from all states north of Florida.