Category Archives: Aiken

Aiken History

Strangers in Paradise: A Century of Jewish Settlement in Aiken, SC Aiken is “a place you could only dream of in Europe,” wrote Hiram Surasky to wife Friedel in Poland in June 1902. “No matter what street you travel on here there are parks and alleys full of delightful aromas.” The Suraskys were among several members of […]

Adath Yeshurun Historical Marker Dedication

November 16, 2014 Aiken, SC Front of Historical MarkerAdath Yeshurun SynagogueAiken’s permanent Jewish community dates to 1890, when immigrants from Eastern Europe, many of the from Knyszyn, Poland, began to settle here. Adath Yeshurun Congregation (Congregation of Israel) held its first services in private homes or in the Masonic Temple. Several community leaders founded the […]