LABELLE - Theresa Hamilton Proverbs has lived in Labelle for 29 years, and is passionate about learning, documenting, and sharing Hendry County’s history. She has happily shared her extensive research with other history enthusiasts, students working on local history projects, other professors, and anyone who is interested.

She was born in the United States and educated in Canada, “I attended high school in Montreal and graduated from the University of New Brunswick. In our early married years, Ian and I lived in Barbados, the Bahamas and Miami. Later in life, I went back to graduate school and earned a master’s in architecture at FIU.” She added, “I am working for an architecture firm, currently working on a project on Sanibel. I spent 15 years as an adjunct professor at FSW.”

Proverbs has presented papers at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) International Conference in Mexico City, and at the Society for American City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH) National Conference in Baltimore. Her work has also been published in the Journal of Planning History and Places, Forum of Design for the Public Realm.

Surrounded by unique family heirlooms, portraits, and other antiques, Proverbs explained, “Hendry County is unique and there are many, many stories to be told. There has been an unfortunate tendency to stereotype Hendry County and the people who settled here. I would like its history to be seen from a new and fresh perspective. Not to re-invent the past but have the stories presented from a more even-handed, less biased viewpoint.”

How did she become interested in local history? Well, Proverbs said, “About 25 years ago, I volunteered at the Barron Library. Doris Cutshall was the librarian, she was self-taught and a wealth of knowledge about local history, especially genealogy. She had amassed a collection of documents, papers, and ephemera about the area. Doris Cutshall introduced me to the history of Hendry County.”

One of her favorite historical topics is, “LaBelle during the Land Boom when Henry Ford was the primary landowner and this small village of barely 500 people was internationally famous.” Proverbs explained with excitement, “The entire state of Florida was afflicted by ‘land boom madness’ when parcels of land were bought and sold sight unseen and doubled in value overnight. Paper fortunes were made in 1925 then the inevitable happened and by 1926 it all came crashing down. It was a brief but intense period for LaBelle, only 18 months. An extraordinary cast of characters came through town. On top of all the investors, speculators and grifters there were Russian nobles, a Spanish countess and members of the British peerage.”

“There are so many stories about that time yet to be told. It is impossible to understand Hendry County without learning about cattle. Cattle ranching has been a fundamental part of the Florida economy for nearly 500 years. Its impact is incalculable because ranching is more than just a business; it is a way of life.” She goes on to say, “There is so much research to be done and I encourage young people in Hendry to consider this topic. It isn’t just the Old West; Florida has its own stories of cattle drives, gun fights, cattle rustling and range wars. Hendry is the place where the southward migration of Florida’s cattle families ended.”

“Over these last 20 years I have collected photographs and interviews about Hendry County. I have a series of drawings and digital models I’ve completed on local buildings, some non-extant like the Everett Hotel and Fort Thompson and existing buildings like the Captain Hendry House and the Poole Store,” said Proverbs. “I’d like, at some point, to put all these photos, drawings and maps into a book to update the Historic Properties Survey.”

Proverbs has been meeting with longtime Hendry County residents and their families. While they share their memories of days past, she records every minute detail. These memories help her create blueprints and floor plans of local historical buildings, which she works on turning into 3D renderings, and eventually unique and interesting short animated films. She narrates these animations herself, but hopes to someday have a whole cast of different voices.

“I really love digital renderings and animation,” she said. “I always feel years behind on the latest innovations, it can be intimidating to go onto forums and see the projects of 18-year-olds. But it means I am continually learning and that is a good thing.”

“I’ve been given permission by Craig Caldwell to do a study of his house, the Home Place. Craig has been an exceptional custodian of his family’s history so there is a treasure trove of photographs, letters and documents.”

She is also working on a digital recreation of the original courtroom at the Hendry County Courthouse, and hopes to meet more people who can share different memories of what it looked like inside.

“Memories are all so different. I distinctly remember interviewing a local person about the Courthouse. Her memories were all about sounds; the clicking of women’s heels on the tiles, the clanking of the elevator, the clacking of typewriters, the laughter of men gossiping and talking underneath the oak tree,” she said. “That just made that building come alive for me. Everyone’s memories are irreplaceable and taken together they all create a larger portrait of a time and place.”

She aims to create more than just an inventory of what buildings existed and their purpose. She plans to fill her survey with drawings and photos that would explain the significance of each building within Hendry County history.

“As an example, in 1910 the Everett Hotel was technologically advanced for the area, served as the center of town and facilitated Labelle’s settlement. However, the progress it helped foster occurred so quickly that within 40 years the hotel was antiquated and had fallen into disuse.” Proverbs added, “The survey would also make clear the influence of the Caloosahatchee river on development in Hendry County.”

Locals can help Proverbs with her projects by sharing their memories and knowledge, “People can help by identifying neighborhoods, houses, owners, occupants and describing interiors. Or simply reminiscing about events, people, and places. Any memory can add a piece to the puzzle. I am especially looking for people to help me recreate the interiors of the Everett Hotel and the Hendry County Courthouse.”

“I’d like to emphasize; every family’s memories are valuable. In fact, the stories about working people in the early days of the county are the hardest to come by,” said Proverbs.

One of her biggest challenges is, “Finding people to speak with. Often older people decline, thinking they don’t have anything important to share, which is far from the truth. The second is getting permission to go on private property to take photographs and measure buildings. It would be nice to have help measuring buildings, but I don’t like to ask as it is tedious and time-consuming work.”

If you’d like to share your memories with Theresa Proverbs. She would love to hear them. You can contact her by emailing: thamiltonpro@outlook.com.