St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Zora Neale Hurston

Photographed by James R. Murray, September 17, 2014

1. Zora Neale Hurston Marker

Inscription. Noted author Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) rented a room in this house in 1942. One of the few surviving buildings closely linked with Hurston’s life, it is an example of frame Vernacular construction, with cool, north-facing porches on both floors. The owners frequently rented to female students at nearby Florida Normal and Industrial Institute (now Florida Memorial College in Miami). While living here Hurston taught part time at the Institute and completed her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road. Also, she met novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, a St. Augustine resident and author of The Yearling. Earlier in 1927 Hurston married Herbert Sheen, a Chicago medical student, at the St. Johns County Courthouse. Hurston was one of the first to appreciate the significance of Fort Mose north of St. Augustine, the first town settled by free black people in the United States. Her article on Fort Mose appeared in the October, 1927 issue of the Journal of Negro History. During her lifetime Hurston traveled the back roads of Florida collecting folk stories and songs that she used to write musical plays, short stories, and novels.

Erected 2003

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by St. Johns County and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-478.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1927.

Location. 29° 53.379′ N, 81° 20.435′ W. Marker is in St. Augustine, Florida, in St. Johns County. It is on West King Street near North McLaughlin Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 791 West King Street, Saint Augustine FL 32084, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in First Coast

and in Greater Jacksonville.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:

Zora Neale Hurston Marker Location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James R. Murray, September 18, 2014

2. Zora Neale Hurston Marker Location

New Augustine Colored Elementary School #36 (approx. ¼ mile away); Pinehurst Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away); San Sebastian Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away); Randolph Caldecott (approx. 0.4 miles away); 570 Christopher Street (approx. 0.4 miles away); S.D.W. Smith, Ancient City, Mt. Horeb #20 (approx. 0.4 miles away); 650 Julia Street (approx. 0.4 miles away); Evergreen Cemetery (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Augustine.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Zora Neale Hurston House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James R. Murray, September 17, 2014

3. Zora Neale Hurston House

It is said that Ms Hurston rented a room upstairs in the house in 1942.

Zora Neale Hurston image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Wikipedia, circa 1943

4. Zora Neale Hurston

Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-62394)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2019. It was originally submitted on September 18, 2014, by James R. Murray of Elkton, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,431 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 18, 2014, by James R. Murray of Elkton, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.