Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, Values
    • FAQs
    • Officers, Board, and Staff
    • Affiliations
    • Rules & Regulations
    • Cincinnati’s Jewish History
    • 200th Booklet
  • Products & Services
    • Monuments & Markers
    • Pre-Arrangements
    • Other Services
  • Our Cemeteries
    • Loveland Cemetery
    • Walnut Hills Cemetery
    • Montgomery Cemetery
    • Hamilton Cemetery
    • Price Hill Cemeteries
    • Covedale Cemeteries
    • Clifton Cemetery
    • Chestnut Street Cemetery (1821-1849)
  • Genealogy
  • Programs
    • Preserving Your Family History through Storytelling
    • Jewish Cemetery Tours
    • Customs and Traditions of Mourning
    • Genealogy
  • Donate
    • Friends Campaign
    • Legacy Gifts / CYJL / Guardians Legacy Society
  • Newsletters
    • Current
    • Archives
      • October 2021
      • June 2020
      • March 2020
      • November 2019
      • July 2019
      • March 2019
      • December 2018
      • August 2018
      • May 2018
      • February 2018
      • December 2016
      • April 2016
      • July 2016
      • December 2015
      • September 2015
      • June 2015
      • February 2015
      • November 2013
      • July 2013
      • March 2013
      • December 2012
    • Directory
  • Contact
Home / The History of our Cemeteries

The History of our Cemeteries

Rabbi Marcus Crystal, Staff Scholar, Cincinnati Community Kollel

Chestnut Street Cemetery: Longworth’s Gift to the Jews?

The story has long been told of the founding of the “first cemetery west of the Alleghenies” located in downtown Cincinnati on Chestnut Street. In 1821, Benjamin Lape, or possibly “Leib,” was on his deathbed and called for a Jew to come to his bedside. Lape admitted to being Jewish, and his dying wish was to be buried according to the rites of his ancestors. This necessitated that the tiny Jewish community create a cemetery – and fast. They went to a man named Nicholas Longworth and bought a property that was 50×25 feet for seventy-five dollars.

They certainly knew to whom to turn. Longworth owned a tremendous amount of property around Cincinnati. In fact, he was on his way to becoming one of the largest landowners in America. By the year 1850, he was second to only William Astor of New York in the amount of taxes he paid to the U.S. government.

Longworth had come from very humble beginnings in New Jersey to learn law in Cincinnati, which led to land speculation and the making of his fortune. He is remembered as an eccentric man, with many interests which he pursued vigorously. He was a patron of art, helping many an artist financially, among other ways, and turned Cincinnati into a center of culture. He was a horticulturist who tended his own garden and made important discoveries regarding strawberries and blackberries. He was a viticulturalist who was the driving force in making the Cincinnati area America’s first major wine producing region, and became known as the father of American winemaking. A case of wine sent by Longworth to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow prompted Longfellow to pen a poem of gratitude about the wine, which is the source of Cincinnati’s nickname “The Queen City.”

One of the eccentricities of Longworth was where he chose to give his charity. Stories are told about Longworth turning down people who asked on behalf of worthy causes simply because they were causes that others would donate to. He wanted to give his charity to those whom others looked at in disdain—the drunks in the gutter and the beggars who didn’t want to work. Longworth did give to many other causes as well, such as furthering art and other cultural institutions, and he donated the land later to be named Mt. Adams towards the building of an observatory.

Noteworthy, then, is his donation to the Jewish community. After the original purchase in 1821, the cemetery needed to expand, and in 1826 Longworth donated another small parcel of land adjoining the original lot. What remains unknown is this eccentric philanthropist’s intent in his donation. Was it a negligible amount of land to Longworth? Later events would suggest otherwise. In 1838 the cemetery would expand for a third time, a similar size to the second expansion, and Longworth sold that bit for five hundred dollars. Considering that the third expansion cost five hundred dollars, that also raises questions about the original purchase. Was Longworth’s 1821 sale for seventy-five dollars an act of magnanimity, in which he decided to forgo his usual profit margin out of kindliness to the fledgling Jewish community?

Longworth thus continues his tradition of leaving us to speculate his motives. It is quite interesting to note that the man who left such an indelible mark on Cincinnati left his mark on the Jewish community, as well.

Sources:

Philipson, David. “The Jewish Pioneers of the Ohio Valley.” The American Jewish Historical Society, no. 8, 1900, pp. 43-57. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43057563, Accessed 16 Dec 2018.

Tucker, Louis Leonard. “‘Old Nick’ Longworth, The Paradoxical Maecenas of Cincinnati.” Cincinnati Historical Society Bulletin, vol. 25, no. 4, 1967, pp. 246-259.

  •  

    Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial
    Facebook   DONATE FIND A GRAVE

     

  • News & Info

    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.
    View on Facebook
    · Share

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

    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.
    View on Facebook
    · Share

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

    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

    Photo

    View on Facebook
    · Share

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Quick Links

  • American Israelite Newspaper
  • Weil Kahn Funeral Home
  • Genealogy Database
Mail icon
Subscribe to our mailing list

Join our mailing list to get newsletters delivered to your email inbox.

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

©2023 • Site Map