Elroy McKendree Avery

This article was published 15 Aug 2024 by Paul Herman, digital media archivist, West Pasco Historical Society

With the centennial of New Port Richey coming up in October, it seems appropriate to honor the man who served as the first mayor of the city, Dr. Elroy McKendree Avery. Born in Erie, Michigan, on July 14, 1844, Dr. Avery did not move to New Port Richey until 1919 when he was 75 years old. Prior to his retirement to Florida, he had already had a successful career and an impressive resume of accomplishments.

In 1861, when he was 17 years old, he enlisted in the Union Army as a private in Company A of the 4th Michigan Infantry. By the end of the Civil War, he was a sergeant major in the 11th Michigan Cavalry. After the war he worked as a writer for the Detroit Tribune and went on to become a high school principal. On July 2, 1870, he married Catherine Hitchcock Tilden. All the while, Avery was attending the University of Michigan, and graduated in 1871 with a bachelor’s degree in philosphy. He also earned a master’s degree in philosophy, as well as honorary degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Civil Law. He was elected

as a scholar of the honorary fraternity Phi Beta Kappa. Elroy and his wife moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1871 where he continued to work as a school principal and as superintendent of schools in East Cleveland. He was a member of the Cleveland City Council in 1891 and 1892, and was an Ohio State Senator from 1893 until 1897. In addition to being an educator, Dr. Avery authored of a number of books in the period between 1876 and 1918 – most of them school textbooks. One of his most noteworthy works was “A History of the United States and Its People”, published in twelve volumes. Several of these volumes may be viewed at the West Pasco Historical Society’s Rao Musunuru, MD Museum & Library in Sims Park,
New Port Richey.

On December 22, 1911, Elroy’s wife Catherine died. They had no children. In 1916, he married Ella Wilson in Cleveland. He continued to work in Cleveland as a publisher until he retired and the couple moved to New Port Richey in 1919. Most of us – at the age of 75 – may have been perfectly content to retire to a life of leisure and pleasure after moving to Florida. But Dr. Elroy Avery had no intention of retiring from his commitment to public service, and stands as an example to the fact that no one is too old to make valuable commitments to our community.

Almost immediately upon his arrival in New Port Richey, Dr. Avery applied for a charter for a public library, feeling such an institution was absolutely necessary to the advancement and growth of the new town. He reinforced his commitment by donating almost one thousand books from his own private collection, including many he had authored himself. By 1920, the new library now being referred to as the “Avery Library” had a home in the Snell Building on Main Street. The library, now known as the “New Port Richey Public Library” has had several homes since that time. But the library holdings still include the books donated by Dr. Avery.

Founding the public library was only the first of Elroy Avery’s contributions to the City of New Port Richey. On May 30th of 1921 he was named as president of the First State Bank of New Port Richey. The bank, located in a building on the northwest corner of Boulevard and Main, was highly successful until it was forced to close after the Great Depression.

As we know from the title of this article, he was also chosen as the first mayor of the city when it was incorporated on October 27, 1924. Elroy was reportedly reluctant to accept this honor. But since the residents of New Port Richey had begun referring to him as the “Grand Old Man” of New Port Richey for his numerous contributions to the town, he was hard-pressed to decline the honor. Dr. Avery was also the founder and president of the Cotee River Boat Club in the early days of New Port Richey. He was a member of the Knights Templar, a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of the Congregational Church of New Port
Richey.

Dr. Elroy McKendree Avery died on the first of September, 1935, at the age of 91 years old, in New Port Richey, survived by his wife, Ella.