Obscured by a tall wooden fence, the Folly Beach home where composer George Gershwin composed the famed opera “Porgy and Bess” is now marked by a street-side historical placard that was unveiled Sept. 25.
“This marker symbolized that the story is important,” Folly Beach Mayor Chris Bizzell said. “This place is important, and we need to pass that history down for future generations.”
The two-story house on West Ashley Avenue was the summer home of author Dubose Heyward and his wife, Dorothy. They collaborated with Gershwin to write the opera based on DuBose Heyward’s novel, “Porgy,” in 1934.
Descendants of the Charleston man who inspired the character Porgy cheered as a floral sheet covering the new historical marker was released.
“It’s a long time due to be recognized as a family,” grandniece Ida Hamilton said. “Most people think that it was fictional, that it wasn’t true. That this man who had no legs on a goat, they think it was fictional, but it wasn’t.”
Hamilton’s great-uncle was Samual Smalls, a disabled street beggar who sold goods from a goat-drawn cart. He’s the man Heyward is said to have seen in Charleston when writing his book. The novel and the opera explore the lives of African Americans in the early 20th century along Catfish Row, a fictitious Charleston tenement.
The marker, identifying the home at 712 W. Ashley Ave., was put in place by the Folly Beach Exchange Club, the island’s Historical Society, and the city’s Tourism and Visitor Promotion Committee. It had been in the works since 2018.
Currently, the Folly Beach Historical Society has an exhibit about the so called, “Porgy House” on display at the island’s museum. It features personal correspondence between Heyward and Gershwin, as was as other artifacts and photographs.