Dedication of Temple Sinai Historical Marker

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 first synagogue, a frame building constructed by 1900, burned. It was replaced in 1913 by this Moorish Revival brick synagogue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Erected by the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina

Back (Right)
Sumter’s Jewish Community dating to 1815, has long been one of the largest and most influential in inland SC. Mark Solomons, Franklin J. Moses, and Montgomery Moses brought their families to Sumter District from the old and well-established Jewish community in Charleston. Other families, from Spain, Germany, Poland, Russia, and other European nations followed. Two organizations founded shortly after the Civil War would later join to form a congregation.

Erected by the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina

To learn about the history of Temple Sinai, Click Here or visit their homepage.
To Learn about Temple Sinai’s donating their archives to the College of Charleston, Click Here.