LaBelle

LaBelle is a city in the Florida Heartland. It is the county seat for Hendry County.

Understand

The Sears Building

Settlers moved into LaBelle due to its location on the Caloosahatchee River and cattle drovers and trappers made up its population. A school was built in 1891, and was rebuilt in 1915, becoming an accredited school. It is now the site of the Edward A. Upthegrove Elementary School. When a Baptist church was formed in addition to the already existing Methodist church, the river became used for mass baptisms.

During the 1920s LaBelle was made the capital of Hendry County and despite its small size it was assigned "city" status. For eight years the city was split between Hendry County and Glades County, with the part in Glades being called "North LaBelle," but the residents of North LaBelle voted to return to the original county and the two cities were merged.

From the 1950s onward, the "city" grew relatively rapidly, from under 1,000 in 1950 to over 2,000 in 1980. A spell of growth during the 1990s brought the city's population above 4,000, and by 2020 the city had reached a population of 5,000.

Get in

By car

FL-80 goes from the west to the city from Fort Myers, following the southern bank of the Caloosahatchee River. To the east it loosely follows the boundary with Glades County to the junction with US-27. US-27 continues east to Clewiston.

From the south FL-29 connects the town from Immokalee. N River Rd, or County Road 78, enters LaBelle along the north bank of the river.

See

• 1 County Courthouse, 25 E Hickpochee Ave. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (updated Aug 2021)
• 2 Labelle Heritage Museum, 360 N Bridge St (between Park Ave and Fort Thompson Ave), ☏ +1 863 674-0034, info@labelleheritagemuseum.org. (updated Aug 2021)

Do

• 1 Firehouse Community Theatre, 241 N Bridge St (junction with Washington Ave), ☏ +1 863 675-3066. F Sa 7PM, Su 2PM. (updated Aug 2021)

Events

• An annual festival, the Swamp Cabbage Festival, is held for the State Tree, the cabbage palm. Some of the events are held in Barron Park, and every year there is a Grand Marshal and a Festival Queen.

Eat

• 1 Forrey Grill, 280 N Bridge St (in the historic Forrey Annex), ☏ +1 863 612-0423, fax: +1 863 612-0421, info@forreygrill.com. Tu–Sa 11AM–9PM. 

Drink

• 1 Bridge St Coffee & Tea, 23 Fort Thompson Ave (between Main St and North Bridge St), ☏ +1 863 674-0104. M–F 7AM–3PM, Sa 8AM–2PM, closed Su. (updated Aug 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Port LaBelle Inn, 1563 Oxbow Dr, ☏ +1 863 675-4411, booking@stmatthewshouse.org. Free high speed internet, outdoor pool, continental breakfast. From $85. (updated Feb 2015)
• 2 River's Edge Motel, 285 Old Cty Rd 78, ☏ +1 863 675-6062, theriversedgemotel@gmail.com. Motel on the north bank of the Caloosahatchee River. All rooms feature kitchens. Free wireless internet and outdoor heated pool available. $65-85. (updated Feb 2015)

Go next

• Fort Myers and Cape Coral to the west
• Lake Placid and Sebring to the north
• Clewiston and, farther away, Palm Beach to the east

Routes through LaBelle

END ← Jct N S ←	N  S	→ Jct N S → Everglades City
END ← Fort Myers ←	W  E	→ Clewiston → West Palm Beach