Jewish Heritage

Jewish Texans

    If anyone has any photos they would like to share or stories about Jewish heritage in Brenham,TX. please email the county coordinator.

    For Reference

Brenham Kehilla

    Early Jewish settlers arrived in Brenham, Texas, during the 1860s. With the arrival of Jewish merchants, Brenham's retail and wholesale trade expanded further. B. Levinson, an original founder, arrived in 1861. The builders of the Simon Theatre, the Simon family, arrived in 1866. These individuals became active in the business community of Brenham, Texas, and as other Jewish settlers arrived, the need for a synagogue grew. Early leaders were: Rabbi Israel, L. Fink as first president, F. Susnitsky as vice president, L. Z. Harrison, J. Lewis, Abe Fink. These men were part of the 20 original charter members of B'nai Abraham Synagogue.

B'nai Abraham Synagogue

    Constructed in 1893 after the first structure caught fire in 1892. Inside the building the Aron Kodesh can be seen on the eastern wall and in the center the Bimah where the Torah was read. In the 1990s the synagogue was believed to be the oldest Orthodox Jewish synagogue to have been in continuous use in Texas

B'nai Abraham Cemetery

    TheB'nai Abraham Cemetery is a jewish cemetery located in Brenham and associated with B'nai Abraham Synagogue. Its location is near Blinn College, west of the Brenham town square. This cemetery is the resting place for many notable Jewish Texans, such the Simon family and Rosa Levin Toubin.