According to Wikipedia:
The all-black Eatonville of Their Eyes Were Watching God is based on the all-black town of the same name in which Hurston grew up. The town's weekly announced in 1889, "Colored People of the United States: Solve the great race problem by securing a home in Eatonville, Florida, a Negro city governed by negroes."
How similar are the fictional and real towns? Was it directly modeled after the real town, or simply inspired by it?