A close-up of the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail map that I followed throughout the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Fort Pierce, Florida. I have not included all of these trail markers in my story, just the most significant ones pertaining to Zora. Lincoln Park is known for its association with notable African American cultural and artistic figures, such as Zora and the Florida Highwaymen, a group of African-American artists who made a living by selling their paintings from their cars in the 1950s.

A Portrait of Zora Neale Hurston, taken by Carl Van Vechten on April 3, 1938, from the Library of Congress.

“Hurston was the next to the youngest of eight children and the daughter of a Baptist minister and Mayor of Eatonville. Her family lived close to the center of town, where she encountered a wide cross section of E atonville’scitizens. Hurston’s mother died when she was nine, and she left home at age fourteen to join a traveling dramatic troupe.

“After leaving the troupe, Hurston studied at Howard University in Washington, D.C., then went onto Columbia University and Barnard College. She received an A.B. from Barnard in 1928—after working closely with the eminent anthropologist Franz Boas. From 1927 to 1932 Hurston conducted field research in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and the Bahamas. Her first field work was undertaken in Eatonville and the surrounding area, since she knew the culture and had maintained strong family connections.

“Her best known folklore collection, Mules and Men (1935), included black music, games, forallore, and religious practices largely based on her field research in thearea. She later collected folklore in Jamaica, Haiti, Bermuda,and Honduras. Tell My Horse (1938) was a similar collection illustrating the folklore of Jamaica and Haiti.

“Hurston became well-known among the authors and intellectuals of New York’s “Harlem Renaissance”duringthemid-1920and1930s. Herethnographicworkwasconductedatatimewhen black culture was not a popular field of study, so it had an impact on many black writers of the time. However, she became famous primarily for her novels based on characters in social contexts drawn from her field work and childhood experiences in Eatonville, Florida.

“She published four novels: Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934), Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), Moses. Man of the Mountain (1939), and Seraph on the Sewanee(1948).

“Her prolific literary out put also included short stories, plays, journal articles, and an autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road (1942).
Hurston’s novels were noteworthy for her portrayal of a strong black culture in the South. Hurston herself was also known for her flamboyant character, her faith in individual initiative, her love of the South, and her ability to live unimpeded by racism,” from the National Register of Historic Places of the U.S. Department of Interior from 1998.

The arched gateway entrance to Eatonville, Florida, along its major thoroughfare of Kennedy Boulevard which runs east and west through the heart of the community. The gateway, mounted on 30 foot brick supports greet visitors to the town with a large, decorative clock and archway signage that speaks to the town’s rich history: The Town That Freedom Built. The gateway was dedicated Aug. 11, 2012 to coincide with the 125th Anniversary of Eatonville’s incorporation as the first self-governing all-black municipality in the United States. Eatonville is a small town and if you’re not aware, you can easily drive through it in a matter of a few minutes. (Aug. 13, 2020)

A close-up of the arched gateway entrance to Eatonville, Florida, along its major thoroughfare of Kennedy Boulevard which runs east and west through the heart of the community. The gateway, mounted on 30 foot brick supports greet visitors to the town with a large, decorative clock and archway signage that speaks to the town’s rich history: The Town That Freedom Built. (Aug. 13, 2020)

To the side of the gateway arch. at the entrance of Eatonville, are the 30 foot brick supports featuring bronze plaques that share some of the town’s history. This plaque features the celebrated black female writer, Zora Neale Hurston, who grew up in Eatonville and whose novels feature her hometown.

Zora was also a traveler. She ventured from her hometown as a teenager eventually making her way to Baltimore, Washington, D.C.; Alabama, Louisiana, Harlem, Jamaica, Haiti, Honduras and the Bahamas, but she kept coming back to Florida. Although Eatonville began her stay in Florida and Fort Pierce was where her life ended, she also spent time in Jacksonville, Sanford and Daytona Beach. (Aug. 13, 2020)

My photo of the reconstructed photograph of Zora’s parents, the Rev. John Hurston and Lucy Potts Hurston, was taken from “Eatonville’s Heritage Trail” historical markers dotted throughout the small town.

In January 1861, Hurston’s father, John Cornelius Hurston II is born in slavery in Alabama in January (d. 1918). And in December 1865, Zora’s mother, Lucy Potts was born in Notasulga, Macon County, Alabama. Then on Feb. 2, 1882, Lucy (Lula) Potts and John Hurston II are married in Beulah Baptist Church, Notasulga, Alabama.

The family moved to Eatonville when Zora was just a few years old, after her father heard of the town and its opportunities for African Americans. He bought five acres and built an eight-room house. Joe Clarke’s store, considered the heart and hub of the community, was just across the road from the Hurston home.
(Aug. 13, 2020)

The Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville was originally founded in 1882 and is the second oldest congregation in Eatonville. There have been a number of renditions of the church structure but this current church was built in 1994. The Rev. John Hurston, Zora’s father, served as the church minister around 1902. (Aug. 13, 2020)

Formerly Club Eaton in Eatonville, was the first nightclub for African Americans with such greats as Duke Ellington, B.B. King, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, the Drifters, Tina Turner and others.
Back in the day when clubs were segregated, this nightspot was said to be swinging and throbbing with the sounds of legendary artists who found a safe haven and enthusiastic audiences in Eatonville. Club Eaton, which opened in 1946, had its name changed to Mr. B’s Club in 1985, later to Heroes’ Night Club, and then to its present name, Club Koha (Keeping Our History Alive). The building is presently in disrepair. (Aug. 13, 2020)

The exterior 1970s faded mural depicting famous African Americans entertainers from the 40s and onwards is fading on the exterior of Club Koha (Keeping Our History Alive), formerly known in its hay day at Club Eaton. (Aug. 13, 2020)

A mural of Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) by Orlando, Florida, artist German Lemus on “Rise” The Mural Project at Elizabeth Park in Eatonville, Florida. The wall, located at a basketball court in Elizabeth Park, features Zora on one side and other uplifting individual art murals on the other side. (Aug. 13, 2020)

This mural, at the “Rise” mural project at Elizabeth Park in Eatonville, is called “Roots of Eatonville.” It begins with the founders of Eatonville told thru art to inspire the younger generation to aim high. (Aug. 13, 2020)

A polygon shaped art piece of the United States by artist Jason “Tie” Davis on the ground of the basketball in Elizabeth Park in Eatonville, Florida, includes five other brilliant mural panels and the Zora Neale Hurston mural on the other side. The mural project, called “Rise” was done by 7 muralists, 6 poets and two calligraphy artists. (Aug. 13, 2020)

A mask less selfie of me at “Rise: The Mural Project” at Elizabeth Park in Eatonville, Florida. I’m just so glad I stumbled on the park and basketball court with these stunning murals. (Aug. 13, 2020)

I stumbled upon this impressive public art mural exhibit called “Rise” at the Elizabeth Park at an out-door basketball court in Eatonville, Florida. Local muralists and poets teamed up to create this visually inspiring mural that speaks to the history, future and culture of Eatonville. On the other side of this five-paneled art mural is the mural of Zora Neale Hurston by German Lemus. (Aug. 13, 2020)

The Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts, also known as The Hurston, is an art museum in Eatonville, named in her honor.
Established in 1990, the museum is said to show artworks of African-American artists and other artists from the African Diaspora. (Aug. 13, 2020)