National Historic Landmark

Hurston, Zora Neale, House

Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida
Listed
December 4, 1991
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
91002047

About this property

The Zora Neale Hurston House is a historic house at 1734 Avenue L in Fort Pierce, Florida. Built in 1957, it was the home of author Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) from then until her death. On December 4, 1991, it was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The Zora Neale Hurston House stands in a residential area of Fort Pierce, on the north side of Avenue L, between North 17th and North 19th Streets. It is a modest single-story house, built out of concrete blocks stuccoed exterior and a flat tar-and-gravel roof. The house is not architecturally distinguished; it was one of a number of identical homes built in 1957 built by Dr. C.C. Benton, a medical doctor, who had sold 10 nearby acres for construction of "a new negro high school" nearby. Originally located on School Court, it was moved, retaining orientation, north 500 feet in 1995 to 1734 Avenue L to allow for expansion of Lincoln Park Academy, the school at which Hurston taught. Hurston, a native of Notasulga, Alabama, but who lived and wrote about Eatonville, Florida, was one of the leading female African-American writers of the mid-20th century. She lived rent-free (courtesy of Dr. Benton) in this house from 1957 until her death. While here, she worked as a journalist for the Fort Pierce Chronicle, taught at the academy, and continued to work on her manuscript for Herod the Great, a major work that remained unpublished at her death. This house is the only known home of hers to survive. The house is a stop on the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail. Other stops on the trail include the Zora Neale Hurston Branch Library, a "Zora Exhibit" at the Agape Senior Recreation Center (formerly the St. Lucie County Welfare Home, where Hurston died in 1960), and the Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery, where she is buried. National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Lucie County, Florida Famous Floridians of Fort Pierce at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail at the St. Lucie County Library System.

Location

1734 School Ct.
Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida
27.46097, -80.34347

Categories

BLACKLITERATURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

St. Anastasia Catholic School, Old
Industrial
1.1 mi
Moores Creek Bridge
Industrial
1.3 mi
St. Lucie High School
Pre Contact
1.3 mi
Fort Pierce Old Post Office
Industrial
1.4 mi
Fort Pierce City Hall, Old
Early Republic
1.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Hurston, Zora Neale, House listed on the National Register?

Hurston, Zora Neale, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1991.

What type of historic resource is Hurston, Zora Neale, House?

Hurston, Zora Neale, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Hurston, Zora Neale, House a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Hurston, Zora Neale, House has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Hurston, Zora Neale, House?

The period of significance for Hurston, Zora Neale, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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