Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
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Home / Chestnut St. Cemetery History

Chestnut St. Cemetery History

JCGC imagesIt’s a small town . . . with a population of just 9,642 people. It’s a pretty rough-and-tumble place, made up mostly of people who wanted to get away from the big population centers. They were willing to come to a place where most people were farmers, although both a merchant class and an intelligentsia were beginning to emerge by 1821.

It was an accepting community, which even tolerated six men of Jewish persuasion. Of course, it wasn’t possible to live a traditional Jewish existence in such a place, where Saturdays were the big market days, and there weren’t enough people to form a minyan.

Benjamin Lieb – or perhaps it was Laib or Lape – was in his 70s, and not doing well. He called Morris Moses and Joseph Jonas to visit him, and explained that he expected to die soon. He had married and lived his adult life as a Baptist, he told them. . . but his wife had preceded him in death, and his daughters had moved away. He wanted to be buried as a Jew, according to the traditions of his family in the old country, and he wanted to buy a grave in the Jewish Cemetery.

JCGC imagesBut there was a problem: the thriving little city of Cincinnati, on the far Western U.S. frontier, with only six Jewish men, didn’t have a Jewish cemetery. It didn’t even have a synagogue.

Jonas and Moses realized that they, too, would die someday, and they went to the largest landowner in the area, Nicholas Longworth, and negotiated the purchase for $75.00 of a 25 x 50 foot plot way out on the western edge of the community, on what later became Chestnut Street, 75 feet from the corner of what later became Central Avenue.

A few years later, they bought two more 25-foot lots, and Chestnut Street Cemetery – later called The Old Jewish Cemetery – became the first Jewish burial ground west of the Allegheny Mountains.

JCGC imagesThe same English immigrants, Joseph Jonas and Morris Moses, who bought the land for the cemetery, were among the small group of Jews who, in 1828 — seven years after the cemetery was created — formed Kehal Kodesh Bene Israel – the Holy Congregation of the Children of Israel – the first Jewish congregation west of the Alleghenies. K.K. Bene Israel today is known as Rockdale Temple.

By 1850, the population of Cincinnati had grown to more than 115,000 people, and Cincinnati was competing with San Fransisco to be the second largest Jewish Community in the nation. Cincinnati fell victim to a terrible cholera epidemic which caused thousands of deaths from 1847 to 1850, and as a result, Chestnut Street became filled. Between 1821 and 1849, when the last burial took place, some 85 Jews were laid to rest there.

As we look at it now, a brick wall surrounds two sides and part of a third side, and across the front is a chain-link fence that is actually owned by the City of Cincinnati. The brick wall was erected around 1873, and is not in good condition. The cemetery has a gate which is kept locked (the only one of JCGC’s cemeteries that is locked). Any one wishing to visit the cemetery may request the key from the JCGC office, and as the cemetery is very small, you can see it very well through the fence without being on the grounds.

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    Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati

    2 months ago

    Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
    If you’ve met Ronnie, you know he’s the real deal and always joking, like in this headline (and of course, he’s not speaking about YOU personally!) We wanted to share our pride in Ronnie’s accomplishments and years of service to our community being recognized. ... See MoreSee Less

    'In 15 minutes, I will have you in a hole.' Meet Ronnie, he digs graves for a living

    www.cincinnati.com

    For Ronnie King, digging graves is one of the easier parts of his job as foreman for Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati. He's got stories.
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    Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati

    2 months ago

    Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
    Thank you to our friends 91.7 WVXU and Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial! We're excited for Sunday's program, which will provide a new twist on some great family stories! Will we see you there? ... See MoreSee Less

    The holidays are a great time for genealogical exploration

    www.wvxu.org

    An upcoming workshop has tips for recording your family history.
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    Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati

    2 months ago

    Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
    What an honor to have been part of this historic year of events! Thank you to the Cincinnati Preservation Association for the kind recognition. Chazak, chazak v’nitchazeik – wishing our entire community success in moving from strength to strength!Each year, the Cincinnati Preservation Association's Preservation Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in local preservation activities in the areas of preservation leadership, education, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, and sustainability.We're doing something different this year by sharing our honorees ahead of time! Please join us in congratulating the honorees as they are announced, and follow the link below to RSVP to the 2022 Annual Meeting and Preservation Awards that will take place at 4pm on Sun 4 Dec at ARCO in Price Hill! (ARCO Cincy is a 2020 CPA award winner in the Rehabilitation category.)Education is one of CPA's founding principles, and education is key to connecting people to the importance of our history and the need to preserve it. This year’s education award goes to the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial, a 14-month long celebration that featured more than 50 events, including genealogy exercises, history lessons, concerts, dance performances, and art exhibitions with a range of collaborators and partner organizations.Jewish community life in Cincinnati formally began with the founding of Chestnut Street Cemetery in 1821, on land purchased from the largest landowner in the area, Nicholas Longworth.The Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial kicked off on 26 Sep 2021 with the rededication of this burial ground, one of the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati. In preparation for the start of the celebration, the tombstones were cleaned, a plaza and educational panels were added, and the gate, fence and brick wall around the cemetery were restored and repaired.L’dor v'dor — from generation to generation — the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial looked back on 200 years of history and forward to continuing contributions to the city. This milestone was a chance for both celebration and reflection, and presented a compelling opportunity for the community to come together as one.Congratulations to everyone involved for providing a robust platform for us all to learn about and celebrate 200 years of Jewish life in Cincinnati!Stay tuned as we continue to announce the 2022 honorees and please plan to join us at ARCO this Sunday: www.eventbrite.com/e/2022-preservation-awards-and-annual-meeting-tickets-430317470137 ... See MoreSee Less

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Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
3400 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45207
513-961-0178

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