Zora Neale Hurston’s Final Home to Be Preserved, Honoring Her Enduring Legacy

The final home of legendary writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston has been saved from disrepair and is now set to be preserved as a cultural landmark. Located in Fort Pierce, Florida, the residence has long held historical significance and was officially designated a Florida Historical Landmark in 1991.

Zora Neale Hurston | KPBS

Now, thanks to a new effort led by The Conservation Fund and the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation, the home will be restored and maintained as a tribute to Hurston’s remarkable life and legacy.

The announcement was made on June 30, confirming that The Conservation Fund has purchased the property and transferred ownership to the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation, which will oversee its preservation.

“Zora Neale Hurston’s final home deserves to be part of her enduring legacy,” said Rhonda K. Hobson, chair of the foundation, in a 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.”

Hurston’s influence reaches far beyond literature. Known for her landmark novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, she was also a celebrated folklorist and anthropologist. Her work as the author of Mules and Men helped document the oral traditions, stories, and culture of Black communities in the rural South, preserving vital histories that were often overlooked by mainstream institutions.

Born in the historic Black town of Eatonville, Florida, Hurston's connection to the South was both personal and scholarly. After leaving Eatonville to pursue her education and career up North, she eventually returned to Florida, where she conducted anthropological fieldwork. During her time with the Federal Writers’ Project, she gathered songs, stories, and lived experiences of Black people across the state, further rooting her legacy in Florida’s cultural and historical fabric.

The restoration of her final residence ensures that this legacy will not only be remembered, but actively celebrated. It also represents a broader movement to protect and uplift Black cultural landmarks; spaces that hold the stories, struggles, and brilliance of generations past.

As her work continues to inspire new readers, artists, and scholars, Zora Neale Hurston’s Fort Pierce home will soon stand as a living monument to her vision, her voice, and the community she so passionately documented.