Zora Neale Hurston:
A Life in Playwriting
Counties
What insights into the communities Hurston was researching does this demographic data provide? Into her plays?
Florida
Take a look at the demographic information for the Florida counties Hurston visited in her life. The information you see pertains to Black residents in the 1930s, as this is when Hurston did the bulk of her playwriting. Understanding who lived in these areas can help us understand whom Hurston was researching and the characters in her plays. Use the navigation tool on the left to quickly jump to what county you are interested in looking at, or use the infographics tool on the right to navigate the diagrams on this page, which analyze and visualize data about living situations, family make-up, and marital status, giving insight into what life was like in these communities.
Setting
Brevard County
Duval County
When was Hurston Here?
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1929 (Lived)
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1951 (Lived)
Demographic Information
1,142 Black families
30.40% of families were Black
470 families owned land
650 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.6
745 families had no children under ten,
173 had one, 96 had two, and 128 families had 3 or more.
There were 2,087 Black women and 2,112 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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Eau Gallie
When was Hurston Here?
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1904 (Lived)
Demographic Information
13,503 Black families
34.60% of families were Black
3,237 families owned land
9,694 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.74
9,091 families had no children under ten,
2,217 had one, 1,150 had two, and 1,045 families had 3 or more.
There were 28,548 Black women and 24,865 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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Jacksonville
Miami
When was Hurston Here?
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1929 (Lived)
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1950 (Lived)
Demographic Information
6,216 Black families
20.2% of families were Black
1,099 families owned land
5,015 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.71
3,735 families had no children under ten,
1,079 had one, 625 had two, and 776 families had 3 or more.
There were 13,214 Black women and 11,902 Black men.
5,733 families have a homemaker
4,504 families have a homemaker who is also employed.
Orange County
When was Hurston Here?
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1892 (Lived)
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1935 (Research)
Demographic Information
3,142 Black families
22.70% of families were Black
1,065 families owned land
2,004 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.79
2,013 families had no children under ten,
512 had one, 297 had two, and 320 families had 3 or more.
There were 6,462 Black women and 5,764 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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Eatonville
The plays Spunk, Mule-Bone, and de Turkey and de Law are also set here!
Palm Beach County
When was Hurston Here?
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1935 (Research)
Demographic Information
4,221 Black families
29.5% of families were Black
836 families owned land
3,276 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.41
2,870 families had no children under ten,
615 had one, 343 had two, and 391 families had 3 or more.
There were 7,904 Black women and 8,856 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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Belle Glade
What does this mean?
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There are more married women, divorced women and widowed women than men in those respective categories as seen on the bar graph. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, once someone is remarried, they are no longer counted under divorced and widowed facets. The higher number of widowed women compared to men can be thought of in a more nuanced way. Widowed men are more ‘eligible’ to get married, whereas widowed and divorced women had a harder time getting married, or chose not to get remarried.
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Women’s worth based on their beauty, youth and potential romantic interest is reflected in Hurtson’s work, for example in de Turkey and de Law, love interest Daisy, is revered for her looks and potential by most of the men in the play. Daisy is somewhat young and also has a grasp of marital trends at the time. In de Turkey and de Law, Daisy knows the agency and limitations she has living in rural Florida as a Black woman in the 20th century, and it is reflected in the dialogue Hurston wrote. Because the data is not broken down by age, we cannot conclude that older or younger widows were more likely to get remarried on a gendered basis.
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However, we can look at the higher number of single men and women and draw age based comparisons from that data. One data set from “Negros in the United States 1920-1930” published by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, included marital status not just for adults but for everyone 15 years or older. In this data set, far more women were married at a younger age than men, showing that women were more likely to marry earlier in their adulthood compared to men. In de Turkey and de Law, Daisy has agency but it is fleeting. Daisy may come off shallow and demanding, however this was a socially valued time for her to use marriage to achieve security in a patriarchal society.
Polk County
When was Hurston Here?
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Lakeland 1928 (Research)
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Mulberry 1928 (Research)
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Pierce 1928 (Research)
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Loughman 1934 (Lived)
Demographic Information
4,399 Black families
23.40% of families were Black
1,121 families owned land
3,182 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.72
2,863 families had no children under ten,
753 had one, 408 had two, and 375 families had 3 or more.
There were 7,932 Black women and 8,088 Black men.
Seminole County
When was Hurston Here?
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1912 (Lived)
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1933 (Lived)
Demographic Information
2,256 Black families
44.7% of families were Black
Average size of family was 2.86
1,409 families had no children under ten
384 had one, 224 had two, and 239 families had 3 or more.
What Cities are Here?
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Sanford
St. Johns County
When was Hurston Here?
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1927 (Research)
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1932 (Lived)
Demographic Information
1,677 Black families
35.30% of families were Black
547 families owned land
1,068 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.77
1,096 families had no children under ten,
258 had one, 150 had two, and 173 families had 3 or more.
There were 3,447 Black women and 3,242 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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St. Augustine
St. Lucie County
When was Hurston Here?
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1957 (Lived)
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1959 (Lived)
Volusia County
When was Hurston Here?
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1934 (Lived)
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1943 (Lived)
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1945 (Lived)
Demographic Information
3,516 Black families
28.30% of families were Black
1,468 families owned land
1,947 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.55
2,362 families had no children under ten,
550 had one, 325 had two, and 279 families had 3 or more.
There were 6,444 Black women and 6,093 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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Daytona Beach
Demographic Information
452 Black families
24.40% of families were Black
76 families owned land
355 families were tenants
Average size of family was 2.93
263 families had no children under ten,
74 had one, 52 had two, and 63 families had 3 or more.
There were 871 Black women and 926 Black men.
What Cities are Here?
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Fort Pierce
What does this mean?
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Orange and Polk County are where Zora Neale Hurston spent time during the 30’s and 40’s and includes her childhood home of Eatonville. Orange and Polk County have more families with no children than other other Florida counties. St. Lucie County, where Hurston spent the last months of her life when she had little money, has a far lower percentage of black homeowners and interestingly, has more families with children. Hurston moved to this area to live in a county welfare home.
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Polk county and the play Hurston wrote of the same title, is about the young adults working for a sawmill in rural central Florida. Orange County, which includes the city of Orlando and sits just above Polk County, has a higher percentage of Black homeowners compared to Polk County, yet still has a very similar ratio of family size. Eatonville Florida is located in Orange County, which matches up with Hurston’s lived experience of living in Orange County. Hurston moved out of her family home at 16, and lived with an older sibling.
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