Oldest African-American city turns 130 years old

Birthday celebration kicks off Saturday

EATONVILLE, Fla. – The town that's described as the oldest continuously-existing African-American city in the United States is celebrating its 130th birthday.

Celebrations in Eatonville kick off Saturday with a crafts and culture festival. The city received its charter from the state of Florida in August 1887.

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It was conceived as a self-governing all-black town for African Americans living in central Florida at the time.

Its most famous resident was the author, Zora Neale Hurston. She used Eatonville as a setting of her most famous book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

Today, Eatonville has nearly 2,300 residents and U.S. Census Bureau data says 85 percent of its residents are black.


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