Charleston Jewry: 320 Years and Counting Charleston, South Carolina, was one of a handful of port cities where the early years of American Jewish history were played out. Jewish immigrants began arriving in the colonial capital as early as the 1690s, drawn by the promise of economic opportunity and the town’s reputation for religious freedom. As […]
Camden, SC Baruch Plaques Saved from the Scrap Heap — based on an article in the Newsletter of the Friends of the Camden Archives and Museum, April 2001 Four bronze plaques that once hung on the walls of Camden’s first hospital were saved from the scrap metal heap by Harry Kline, owner of Camden Steel and […]
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 […]
The Jews of Anderson, South Carolina: Merchants and Manufacturers The first Jews to settle in Anderson, the Lessers, came from Prussia by way of New York and Georgia and were established in the town well before the Civil War. During the post-war occupation of South Carolina, Michael and Martha Lesser took an injured Union soldier, […]
Corner Screven and Highmarket Streets Georgetown, SC Temple Beth Elohim Cemetery, Founded 1772 Jews arrived in the historic seaport of Georgetown, S.C. in the mid 1700s and by 1800, were a small but important portion of the population. Two of the first to arrive were brothers Abraham and Solomon Cohen. Along with Mordecai Myers, these gentlemen were […]
11 Church St Sumter SC May 22, 2009 Front (Left) The Hebrew Cemetery Society was founded in 1874, the Sumter Hebrew Benevolent Society was founded before 1881, and the two societies agreed to merge that year. A formal merger in 1895 created the Sumter Society of Israelites, the official name of Congregation Sinai. The […]
11 Church St Sumter SC The first Jewish citizens of the Sumter community came from Charleston about 1815. These early settlers were of Sephardic background and many had fled persecution in Spain. As oppression spread in Germany, Poland, and then Russia, immigrants from these countries also settled in South Carolina and the Sumter Community. Two […]
182 Rutledge AveCharleston, SC 29403 In the year 1854 a small group of Jews met in Charleston, South Carolina for worship according to the Ashkenazi ritual of Orthodox Judaism and called themselves Berith Shalome. Just a few blocks away from its present site, the foundations were laid for what is today the oldest Orthodox Shul […]
401 Scott StreetBeaufort, SC Jews have resided in Beaufort since as far back as the 1760s. In the latter half of the 19th century, as the town’s population grew, Jews from the vicinity gathered to worship in various locations: in homes, in apartments over stores, in the Masonic Hall, and then in a room on […]
Anderson, SC B’Nai Israel Synagogue was built in 1948. Max Siegel wanted his grandson to have his Bar Mitzvah in a “Synagogue”. Before that, services were held above a department store in downtown Anderson. The congregation has been in Anderson for well over 100 years. For more information about Anderson and B’nai Israel, go to Anderson […]