The Dubose Heyward House is a historic house at 76 Church Street in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Now a wing of a larger house, this modest two-story structure was the home from 1919 to 1924 of author Dubose Heyward (1885–1940), author of '' Porgy'', one of the first works to portray Southern African-Americans in a positive light. The house was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1971. and

Description and history

The Heyward House is located in the

Charleston Historic District The Charleston Historic District, alternatively known as Charleston Old and Historic District, is a National Historic Landmark District in Charleston, South Carolina. The district, which covers most of the historic peninsular heart of the city, c ...

, on the east side of Church Street south of Trade Street. It is a two-story structure, with a tile roof and stuccoed exterior. It is now attached as a wing to the house immediately to its left, a three-story building. The house is not architecturally distinguished, and has principally been modified since the period of Heyward's residence by the removal of intervening walls with the adjacent house to create enlarged dining and bedrooms. Dubose Heyward was born in 1885 into an aristocratic Charleston family, which fell upon hard times, leading him to engage in a number of low-wage jobs early in life. He was a significant early figure in the renaissance of Southern literature in the 1910s, helping found the Poetry Society of South Carolina in 1920. In 1925 he moved to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, where he wrote '' Porgy'', his most significant claim to fame. It was unique at the time in present a southern African-American in a well-rounded and human light, and not as either a comic foil or propaganda piece. ''Porgy'' was the inspiration for

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's popular folk opera ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'', cementing the character's place in American culture. Heyward lived in this house between about 1919 and 1924.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyward, Dubose, House National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina Houses in Charleston, South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Houses completed in 1919 National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina

Description and history

See also

References