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Florida · South Central Florida · Lake Okeechobee
Glades County, Florida
Florida's smallest county by population — from Moore Haven's Lake Okeechobee western shore and the Caloosahatchee River junction to the vast sugar and cattle operations of the Florida Heartland, and one of the most authentically rural and least-known counties in a state defined by its beach resort identity. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Glades County residents.
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Office: Glades County Emergency Management – (863) 946-6003 | gladescounty.net
Alert System: Florida FDEM; CodeRED; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Moore Haven school facilities; contact OEM
FEMA Region: Region 4
Notes: South-central Florida Lake Okeechobee county; Moore Haven is county seat; hurricane risk (hurricane track across Lake Okeechobee creates enormous surge risk; 1926 Hurricane and 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane (the “Storm of 1928” – the second-deadliest hurricane in US history, killing 2,500-3,000 people when the Lake Okeechobee dike failed and flooded the surrounding farmlands; the Okeechobee flooding was a catastrophe for the agricultural communities around the lake; the Herbert Hoover Dike was built afterward to prevent a recurrence)); flooding (Lake Okeechobee; Caloosahatchee River); severe thunderstorms; wildfire risk; very rural; Glades County is one of Florida’s smallest population counties (~13,000)
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Roads: Glades County Roads – (863) 946-6003
Transit: None; completely auto-dependent; very remote
Notes: US-27 (north-south along Lake Okeechobee’s western shore – the primary route connecting Moore Haven to Belle Glade/South Bay on the south and Clewiston on the south; to Fort Lauderdale south; to I-75/Alligator Alley south); SR-78 (east along the lake to Okeechobee City); Moore Haven is a very small county seat; the Caloosahatchee River connects Moore Haven to Fort Myers to the west; very remote
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Glades County Building – (863) 946-6003
Services: Very basic county permits; Moore Haven (separate) only significant community
Notes: Very limited development; cattle ranching and sugarcane agricultural structures; Lake Okeechobee sportfishing camp development; extremely limited overall activity
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Glades County Veterans Services – (863) 946-6003
VA Medical: Bay Pines VAMC (about 90 miles west via US-27/SR-80); West Palm Beach VA accessible south; very distant
Notes: Extremely remote from VA; telehealth critical; very small veteran population; agricultural community
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Glades County Public Library – (863) 946-0744
Address: Moore Haven
Services: Books, public computers, Wi-Fi, children’s programs; Lake Okeechobee heritage; 1928 hurricane history; sugar cane farming heritage
Notes: Single library; the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane’s devastating history is deeply embedded in the county’s memory – this county was among those hardest hit; Lake Okeechobee heritage in the collections; very limited resources
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lake Okeechobee (the “Big Lake” – the second largest freshwater lake entirely within the US after Lake Michigan; 730 square miles; the dominant feature of south-central Florida; one of Florida’s finest sportfishing lakes (largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish); the lake’s bass fishing is legendary nationally; the Okeechobee Waterway provides boat transit from the Atlantic to the Gulf through Florida’s interior via the St. Lucie Canal, Lake Okeechobee, and the Caloosahatchee River – one of Florida’s great boating experiences); Herbert Hoover Dike (the USACE dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee – built after the 1928 disaster; 143 miles long; the dike separates the lake from the surrounding agricultural landscape; the dike’s aging condition (parts are over 90 years old) is a major safety concern – a dike failure during a major hurricane could cause catastrophic flooding in communities around the lake; USACE has been rehabilitating the dike); Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation (Glades County – one of the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s six reservations; the Brighton Reservation is the Seminole Tribe’s cattle ranching community)
Notes: Lake Okeechobee’s bass fishing is one of the finest in the world – the Big O is a destination for serious bass anglers; the lake’s natural shallowness (average 9 feet deep) and extensive vegetation create ideal bass habitat; the 1928 Hurricane’s death toll (2,500-3,000 people killed when the dike failed) remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history and is the second deadliest hurricane in US history; the victims were primarily poor Black agricultural workers living just below the dike on the “muck land” farms; the Herbert Hoover Dike’s continued integrity is a critical public safety issue
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Very limited; Florida DEP; USACE Herbert Hoover Dike maps; Lake Okeechobee water level monitoring; SFWMD lake management maps; Seminole Tribe reservation maps
Notes: USACE and SFWMD maintain the primary maps; Lake Okeechobee water level is closely monitored (high water levels require releases to estuaries that cause damage; low water reduces bass habitat); Herbert Hoover Dike structural assessment maps
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Very basic; Glades County Sheriff animal control; Seminole Tribe manages animals on reservation
Notes: Agricultural county; cattle ranching; Lake Okeechobee wildlife (Florida sandhill cranes; white pelicans; great blue herons; snail kites (federally endangered – Lake Okeechobee is one of their primary habitats)); alligators; snook and bass in the lake; wild turkey
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Very limited; Glades County transfer station
Environmental: Florida DEP; South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD); US Army Corps of Engineers (Lake Okeechobee management; Herbert Hoover Dike); Seminole Tribe environmental programs
Key Issues: Herbert Hoover Dike safety (the aging dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee has been rated at high risk of failure by USACE; a major hurricane could cause catastrophic failure similar to or worse than 1928; the USACE has been rehabilitating the dike at a cost of billions of dollars; the rehabilitation is ongoing); Lake Okeechobee water quality (the lake is severely impaired by phosphorus from agricultural runoff – primarily from the Everglades Agricultural Area to the south; the high phosphorus levels fuel blue-green algal blooms that have been catastrophic – the 2018 toxic algal blooms were so severe they prompted a state of emergency in surrounding counties; the algal blooms have also devastated coastal estuaries when lake water was discharged to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers; USACE lake level management (releasing high lake water to estuaries to protect the dike) creates the tension between dike safety and estuary damage); snail kite habitat management (the snail kite (federally endangered) depends on apple snails in Lake Okeechobee and surrounding marshes; changes in aquatic vegetation (from invasive exotic plants) and lake level management affect snail kite food availability)
Notes: Lake Okeechobee is the hydrological hub of South Florida – water flows into it from the north (Kissimmee River chain) and out to the Everglades to the south (through the water control structures managed by SFWMD) and to the coasts via the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers; the lake’s water quality management is one of the most contentious environmental management issues in Florida; phosphorus from the Everglades Agricultural Area (the sugarcane growing region just south of the lake) has created a chronically eutrophied lake ecosystem; the toxic algal blooms that have periodically overwhelmed the lake and adjacent estuaries are a major public health and ecological crisis; the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan includes water storage projects that would reduce the need for harmful lake discharges to estuaries, but these projects have been slow to implement
About Glades County
Heritage | Moore Haven sits on the south shore of Lake Okeechobee; Glades County is one of Florida’s most rural and sparsely populated counties; the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane (estimated 2,500+ deaths — one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history) devastated the region; a memorial at Port Mayaca honors the victims Outdoors | Lake Okeechobee (the second-largest freshwater lake in the contiguous United States; exceptional bass fishing); Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area; Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation Notable | Glades County has one of Florida’s highest proportions of agricultural employment; cattle ranching and citrus are the economic backbone Library | Glades County Public Library — (863) 946-0744
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS (Records, Marriage Licenses)
500 Ave. J, Moore Haven, FL 33471
(863) 946-6010
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Glades County Clerk of the Circuit Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Glades County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Glades County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division Glades County Courthouse, 500 Avenue J, Room 102, Moore Haven, FL 33471 (863) 946-6010
Glades County sits in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit. Probate Judge: Hon. Jack Lundy. Clerk & Comptroller: Tami Pearce Simmons.
IMPORTANT – a major statewide law change just took effect: Florida’s summary administration threshold DOUBLED from $75,000 to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026, under CS/HB 1337 (Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida). Confirm which threshold applies based on date of death when helping someone (see
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
988 US Hwy. 27 N., Moore Haven, FL 33471
(863) 946-1600
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
500 Ave. J, Moore Haven, FL 33471
(863) 946-6005
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
FL Dept of Health — Glades
1021 US Hwy. 27 N., Moore Haven, FL 33471
(863) 946-0707
FL DCF — Glades
(863) 946-0200
FL Medicaid
(800) 299-4833
Hendry Regional Medical Center (adjacent Hendry County)
hendryregional.org
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Florida DOH in Glades County – (863) 946-6003 | glades.floridahealth.gov
Services: Very basic; immunizations; vital records; limited services
Hospital: No local hospital; Hendry Regional Medical Center (LaBelle, Hendry County – 30 miles west) and Moore Haven clinic; West Palm Beach and Fort Myers for hospital care
Notes: No local hospital; extremely limited healthcare; Hendry County hospital serves the region; agricultural worker health (sugarcane and cattle workers); behavioral health in isolated agricultural community
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Moore Haven
Population: 13,000
Area: 774 mi²
Established: 1921
Tier: 3
Public Records
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