The subtropical real estate in Belle Glade Florida used to be the hunting and fishing grounds of the Calusa and Seminole tribes.  During the early 1800s when Florida real estate sales ramped up, properties in Belle Glade (formerly called Hillsboro) were plagued with drainage issues.  Canal systems helped separate the wetlands into transportation routes and dry land.  Farm homes in Belle Glade sprang up around fields of green beans, celery, lettuce, sweet corn, sugar cane, and sod.

West of the city, there are still burial mounds from the ancient Calusa.  During the 1930s, the Smithsonian Institution excavated, followed by archaeologists from the Florida State Museum. 

The Seminole Indians became accomplished fishers in the area after relocating here from Georgia and Alabama when settlers pushed for expansion and development.  They called it Okeechobeeland or the Land of Big Waters.  Before development could succeed, the construction of three major canals to control the Lake Okeechobee floodwaters had to be completed.  The Hillsboro, the North New River, and the Miami Canal opened in 1913.  Flood control, sport fishing, and a thriving agricultural industry created a sound economy for the little community.

By April 9, 1928, the Hillsboro community incorporated and voted for the name Belle Glade, meaning 'the belle of the Glades.'  The University of Florida Agricultural Research and Education Center opened.  However, on September 16, the worst of hurricane storms devastated the area by literally blowing the water out of the lake killing 2500 people.

President Herbert Hoover visited the area, garnering federal and state agreements to build a levee.  The Hoover Dike is 85 miles of levee varying from 34 feet to five feet above the highest point that the lake has ever reached.

As the largest city in the heart of the Florida Everglades, Belle Glade now hosts the Belle Glade Marina Campground, a great place to catch the now-famous wide-mouth bass.  With 350 campsites, tent camping, boat ramps, picnic facilities, and miniature golf, the vacation paradise is near an 18-hole public golf course.

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