[5] LaBelle hosts the annual Swamp Cabbage Festival, which is held in honor of the Florida state tree during the last full weekend of February.

LaBelle began as a settlement on the Caloosahatchee River around the time of Hamilton Disston's efforts to drain the Everglades with the hope of promoting growth.

The settlement, which lay on the western edge of Captain Francis A. Hendry's large Monroe County property, was initially populated with cattle drovers and trappers.

The campus is now Edward A. Upthegrove Elementary School, named after one of LaBelle's original two families.

[5] In 1909, Captain Hendry subdivided his land from the Lee County courthouse to be sold.

[5] The majority landholding stake was bought by Edgar Everett (E. E.) Goodno,[6] which increased LaBelle to almost twenty times its original size.

In an approved public referendum, the proposal was put forth and the portion of LaBelle in Glades was surrendered.

[5] LaBelle is located in northwestern Hendry County, on the south side of the Caloosahatchee River.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally warm winters.

The city of LaBelle holds an annual festival celebrating the state tree, the cabbage palm.