The last home of literary icon Zora Neale Hurston is getting a new chapter. Once at risk of being lost to development or demolition, the modest Fort Pierce, Florida, residence where Hurston spent her final years has been saved and is now on track to become a site of public remembrance and education thanks to The Conservation Fund. According to a press release issued by the nonprofit on June 30, The Conservation Fund stepped in to purchase the property just before it hit the open market. Now, plans are underway to transfer the home to the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation (ZNHFEF), which will restore the building and transform it into a cultural and educational hub.
The foundation is actively raising funds to support the purchase and renovation of the home. Once restored, the site will serve as a cornerstone of the Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, a community-driven initiative honoring the places and spaces that shaped Hurston’s life and legacy in Fort Pierce.
“Zora Neale Hurston’s final home deserves to be part of her enduring legacy,” said Marvin Hobson, president of the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation, in the press release. “A home is a place of safety and refuge. As a writer in a male-dominated industry who worked during Jim Crow America, it’s easy to imagine the peace and comfort that Zora would have sought at her Fort Pierce home. We’re honored to partner with The Conservation Fund to ensure this property honors one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.”
The history of Hurston’s iconic but quaint home.
Nestled across from Lincoln Park Academy on School Court, the house tells a quiet but powerful story. Built in 1957 in what was then a segregated neighborhood known as Lincoln Park, the structure stands as a rare physical link to Hurston’s final years, according to Sah-Archepedia and the City of Fort Pierce website. She is the only person to have ever lived in the home, and her grave lies just blocks away.
The single-story, post-war masonry structure was originally part of a group of rental homes developed by Dr. C.C. Benton, a prominent African American physician and family friend of Hurston. He offered her the home rent-free during a difficult time in her life. Like many homes of the era, it featured a flat roof, simple lines, and jalousie windows, practical design elements for working-class families in mid-century Florida.
Inside, the space was modest: a living room, two small bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. But what happened within its walls was anything but ordinary. During her time there, Hurston contributed articles to The Chronicle newspaper and worked on what would be her final project, an ambitious and unfinished biography of King Herod, the City of Fort Pierce website noted. A stroke eventually forced her to leave the home, and she passed away in 1960.
Today, Hurston is revered for her profound contributions to American literature and cultural history. Her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, remains a touchstone of the Harlem Renaissance and a staple in classrooms and libraries around the world.
By preserving and repurposing her Fort Pierce home, community leaders aim to honor her story in a tangible way, connecting future generations to a legacy rooted in creativity, resilience, and Black history.
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Zora Neale Hurston’s Final Home To Become Cultural Landmark In Fort Pierce
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