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LaBelle, located in a vast oak hammock on the
shores of the Caloosahatchee River, at the intersection of State
Roads 29 and 80, 26 miles east of Ft. Myers. The town and
unincorporated communities within a 15-mile radius watch the
number of inhabitants rise to 12,000 or more during the winter
growing season. LaBelle means "the beautiful" in French.
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 Port Labelle,
3 miles east of downtown LaBelle.
Citrus, mainly oranges and grapefruit, and
vegetable growing drive the town's economy. LaBelle is home to
the annual Swamp Cabbage Festival held on the last full weekend
of each February. Visitors from all over the world attend this
big festival. The Festival is named in honor of Florida's
prolific state tree, the Sable Palm, nicknamed the "cabbage"
palm because of it's sweet, tender pulp, the "heart of palm"
found inside the trunk.
The Sable palm and the Live Oak trees help
give LaBelle it's famed scenic beauty.
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