Port LaBelle, Florida

Hendry County's Largest Community

Port LaBelle, Florida 33935

FIRST POPULATED: Late 1800s by Florida Pioneers

UNINCORPORATED PORT LABELLE POPULATION: 5,000

GREATER LABELLE: 12,000

HENDRY COUNTY: 37,000

INTERESTING FACTS: Port LaBelle, a 31,000-acre single-family planned housing community with about 13,000 residential lots, three miles east of the city of LaBelle, brings a modern, country club atmosphere to the city of LaBelle. It was originally developed by General Development Corp. in the 1970s and includes neighborhood parks, a marina, and a growing residential community.

In 1972 the land for the Port LaBelle community was purchased by the Miami developer from the heirs of Joe B. Hendry, Sr., the “Cattle King” of south Florida, who bought most of the county’s land from LaBelle to Clewiston from Henry Ford in 1942. The majority of Port LaBelle's vast, and until recently remote lands, are still unfenced and are mostly vacant one-quarter acre lots, some lots backing up to recreational greenbelt areas.

Four community subdivisions have been developed over the last thirty years including Country Village, Eucalyptus Village, Laurel Oaks and the Port LaBelle Ranchettes. These four Port LaBelle subdivisions were designed with greenbelt areas surrounding the neighborhoods, and plentiful oak and fruit trees, with all underground utilities (except for the Ranchettes) to preserve the uncluttered natural open space look.

In recent years three additional subdivisions were built including Mira Verde, a 140 unit one-story apartment complex with subsidized housing for agricultural employees; Oak Haven, with 35 two-acre executive home sites; and Tanglewood, with 54 manufactured homes on small lots. A one-story apartment complex for subsidized elderly housing has also been built on the southwest corner of Eucalyptus Village.

There are currently about 5000 residents in Port LaBelle and about 1600 homes. An additional 100 homes are expected to be built each year for the next few years. It has been estimated that a 50% build out of Port LaBelle's 13,000 lots will not take place until 2033 and a complete build out near the end of the 21st Century.

Country Village, north of Cowboy Way, is a small neighborhood of primarily one-bedroom homes each with a single car garage, although many garages have been converted to bedrooms, all homes have underground utilities. Eucalyptus Village homes are larger 2 and 3-bedroom homes with one or two-car garages or carport, although most homes have converted the garage to an extra room. All homes have underground utility lines. Laurel Oaks, north of State Road 80, is a half mile east of the Oxbow Inn and Port LaBelle Marina, and the 53 homes are executive style with 3-bedrooms or more and two-car garages, and the neighborhood has all underground utilities. Port LaBelle Ranchettes, north of State Road 80 and just south of the Caloosahatchee River, have larger executive-style homes on acreage of two to five acres and above ground utility lines. The remainder and vast majority of the Port LaBelle area is still undeveloped lots and all homes will have above ground electric lines on traditional poles. The privately owned Port LaBelle marina and OxBow Hotel and Restaurant, north of SR80, are on the Caloosahatchee River, which flows from Lake Okeechobee to Ft. Myers. Lake Okeechobee is the second largest freshwater lake in the United States.

The City of LaBelle, 3 miles west of Port LaBelle, is located in a vast oak hammock and on the shores of the Caloosahatchee River, at the intersection of State Roads 29 and 80, and is 26 miles east of Ft. Myers. The town and unincorporated communities within a 15-mile radius see the number of residents rise to 12,000 or more during the winter vegetable and citrus harvesting season. The city of LaBelle has recently annexed land south along State Road 29 in which a technical college is planned and a large subdivision by the Bonita Bay Group in expected in coming years. The city also annexed and purchased a portion of Port LaBelle’s Country Village vacant lots to build a waste treatment field. The area was originally settled by the Caloosa Indians, who held religious rites here. The Ortona Indian Mound Park is about 15 miles northeast in Glades county. LaBelle means "the beautiful" in French and according to Florida history books, Capt. Francis Asbury Hendry named the area in 1896 for his daughters, Laura and Belle. The greater LaBelle area includes North LaBelle on the north side of the Caloosahatchee River and 31,000 acres in Port LaBelle, 3 miles east of downtown LaBelle.