History of Chambersburg's First Jewish Community

The Israelite Benevolent Society
 The earliest known Jewish family in Franklin County arrived in 1837. It was quickly followed by a group of about 50 Orthodox Jewish families who came from places like Wurtemburg, Germany, literally, to peddle their wares to the existing populace. Chambersburg was a major national transportation crossroads at the time, so there was plenty of work for everyone. On September 27,1840, the Israelite Benevolent Society, or "Wohltatigkeitsgesellschaft," was formed by 19 founding members, in order to meet the need for burials according to traditional Orthodox Jewish rites. Admission to the society was $5.00, however, it was stipulated to rise to $10.00 after November 1. Gerson Levi, as secretary, began to keep books and records for the society, that he continued to keep until 1868. Those records, written in a German dialect and later translated by Egon Gartenberg, are contained in one, leather bound volume that is on display at Congregation Sons of Israel, Chambersburg.
 

This is a view of the Second Lutheran Church from E. Washington Street at the turn of the last century. The black, triangular-shaped piece on the far right could be the funeral parlor.  The Church was located next door to the Old Jewish Cemetery.

On June 14, 1844, property that had been owned by Philip and Fani Arnold was conveyed via deed to Isaac Arnold and Jos. Sultzburger, trustees for the Benevolent Society. The restoration effort unearthed the memorial headstone of Fani Arnold. It was broken in three pieces and covered with a foot of dirt. You can see it today, standing in the far northwest corner of the burial grounds, an appropriate choice for a founder. Philip Arnold's headstone still waits to be uncovered.

The dimensions of the property are 42 feet fronting on East Washington Street on its south, and 264 feet deep and 42 feet across, bordering Ludwig Alley on its north side. The cemetery property contained grave sites in its rear half and what we believe to be a funeral parlor toward the front. The restoration effort discovered a foundation for a building less than 20 feet square. Use of a high-tech metal detector led to the discovery of a 19th century style key, a foot below the surface and two feet from the building foundation. There was discussion in the diary of this building as being too small for its intended purpose, but we find no discussion of its ultimate disposal.

Soldiers and Children
The Israelite Burial Society existed at least until 1880 when the books and records were no longer kept. Society meetings were held mostly in Hagerstown after 1849.  Many grave sites with headstones marked from 1845 through the late 1880s are clearly identifiable. On August 19, 1863, a Confederate Soldier from Arkansas named Isaac Burgauer, who had been wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg was buried here. Reputedly, he was carrying a document in his pocket that indicated his wish to be buried in the nearest Jewish cemetery if he should fall in battle. There are many young children buried here, including a set of  twins, who died only six months apart, and another who may have died at birth, as their memorial is a double tombstone.

According to Society records, in 1872, over 20 members of the society did not live in Franklin County, perhaps evidencing an out migration that resulted in there being no records of a Jewish Community until the next wave immigration that did not occur until after 1910. In fact, the only evidence comes from the headstones, as there are a number of grave sites whose headstones are dated from the 1890s to 1912.

The Twentieth Century
In 1903, the Cumberland Valley Railroad began to purchase property in the right-of-way for its new "high line," a stretch of trestle running through Chambersburg's east side. The Old Jewish Cemetery was on the proposed route, as was its northern neighbor, the Second Lutheran Church and its adjoining cemetery. The plan was to disinter the bodies and move them. An unknown representative of the Old Jewish Cemetery refused to sell, as he rightly claimed that Jewish graves could not be disturbed. As a result, the railroad moved its right of way far enough north to go through the center of the Lutheran Church, the church elders sold the property for $17,500, and its bodies were disinterred and moved to Cedar Grove Cemetery. No time was wasted. A new church was built one block west on E. Washington Street. You can see the cornerstone today, inscribed "1903."

There are no existing Jewish people in Franklin County with ties to any member of the Israelite Burial Society. The Stine sisters of Harrisburg (1967 ref.) are the only currently known family with Society members buried in the cemetery, the latest of whom was buried in 1913.

A new group of Jewish immigrants arrived in the early part of the twentieth century. Arriving from northern Europe, they formed the first synagogue in Chambersburg in 1919 .  This congregation is the predecessor of the current Jewish Community of approximately 75 families.

The "Old Jewish Cemetery" languished in a state of desecration and disrepair for the second half of the twentieth century.  A new cemetery property was purchased in 1955, and all Jewish burials have been conducted there since then.  Restoration efforts were made in 1988 and 2000.  What you see today is their result.

There have been Jewish communities in Pennsylvania for over 250 years. But there are few remaining in the smaller communities (less than 30,000). Chambersburg, with its beautiful synagogue and six torahs, is one of those few.  A struggle continues to preserve the Synagogue membership there, however.

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