Formed May 11, 1923 (63rd county)
Hendry County (39,626), La Belle (4,971), Clewiston (7,330)
The Modern style red brick structure was built in 1996 to replace the 1926 courthouse. It is located on Hickpoochee Street between Main and Bridge streets in the small town. Florida State Highway 80 is Hickpoochee Street. Titsch & Associates are the building architects. The complex has a Judicial wing and an Administration wing. Veteran memorials are across the street. La Belle has been the only county seat. Settler Major Francis A. Hendry was the source for the county name. Hendry’s daughters Laura and Belle provided the county seat name. On May 11, 1923 the county was created from De Soto County as the 63rd county.
Hendry County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Thirty-one Circuit Court Judges serve Hendry, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Lee counties and a County Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Hendry County (judicial.) The county is in south central Florida. Miami, Florida is southeast of the county. The center of the county is 29.7 miles Southeast of La Belle nearer Felda. The county is surrounded clockwise by Glades, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Broward, Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties.
The area of the county is 1153 square miles. It is 8 out of 67 counties in the state. It ranks 47 out of 67 in population in the state. It has a density of 34.4 persons per square mile making it 56 out of 67 in the state. Hendry County has 31.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 27 crosses the northeast tip of the county from Glades County, north, to Palm Beach County, east. The county is shaped like a dog’s head. La Belle is in the extreme northwest part of the county on the northern border. Clewiston is in the northeast corner of the county. La Belle is the county seat and Clewiston is the largest city. La Belle is 12.5% of the county population while Clewiston is 18.5% of the county population. The county is pronounced HEN-DREE. The county seat is pronounced LA BELL. The largest city is pronounced KLUE-STUN. This county is in the Clewiston Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Clewiston
La Belle
