Langston Hughes’ Historic Westfield Home Listed For Sale

The Westfield home of writer and social activist Langston Hughes is up for sale at 514 Downer Street. The residence has been listed on Zillow for $717,000 and includes four bedrooms, four baths, and stands at 2,524 sq ft. 

Hughes was one of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance, an explosion of the arts that impacted African American culture in Harlem, NYC, in the 1920s and 30s. This was through art forms including literature, music such as jazz and blues, visual arts, and theater. 

Born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, Hughes grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, before moving to New York City in 1921 following two years in Mexico with his father after high school. After a year at Columbia University, he left and didn’t return to school until he entered Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1925. 

A Historic Home Saved From Demolition

The house was erected in 1920 and is a Queen Anne Vernacular-style single family house. It wasn’t until 2023 when Westfield’s Historic Preservation Committee blocked the home from being torn down and designated it an historic site. The Committee determined that the home had cultural, historical, architectural, and aesthetic significance and noted that the home retained much of its original design and workmanship, allowing it to become a candidate for rehabilitation by Historic Tax Credits. 

Following his graduation in 1929, Hughes lived in the Westfield house around 1930 as he collaborated with Zora Neale Hurston, another one of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance, on a Broadway play. He would move back to New York City in 1931. 

The former home of Hughes has been a stop on the African American History Tour by the African American History Project of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Westfield. 

Westfield’s African American History

Westfield itself is rich in African American history. During the town’s 300th anniversary in 2020, members of the community began researching its history and would lead to the release of the book “African Americans in Westfield, New Jersey from 1720 to 2020.” This would also lead to the creation of the African American History Project of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association. 

Slavery was a part of Westfield’s history in the 18th and 19th centuries until its abolition in 1866. While slaves were bought and sold in Westfield, the exact location of auction sites remain unknown although local folklore points to Lincoln Plaza in the downtown section of the town to be a possible contender for the site. 

Westfield’s wealthiest families, which included the Cory’s, Elmer’s, and Ross’s, all owned slaves in the 19th century. It was also reported that there were still slaves residing in the town by 1850. 

Many of Westfield’s African American residents were part of the Great Migration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between 1905 and 1960, a predominantly African American neighborhood arose in Turkey Swamp in Westfield’s “Big Woods” area. In 1980, it would be rechristened as Brightwood Park.