The Synagogue Documentation Project was organized in 1997 by Rabbi Walter Jacob of Congregation Rodef Shalom to collect architectural information about the buildings that had served as synagogues in the small towns of Western Pennsylvania. The project was then turned over to the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Archives and the object of the project was expanded to include the collection of archival materials related to Jewish life in those small towns. The Jewish populations in these towns have decreased. Indeed, there are no longer Jews living in some of the towns. Many congregations have disbanded, and the synagogues have been sold and used for other purposes. Project volunteers were assigned to locate people who had been part of those communities, and enlist their help in collecting records of the congregations, photographs of the synagogue buildings, personal papers, or any other materials that would document what had been a strong Jewish presence in those towns. An explanation of the project and a call for materials was posted in the Jewish Chronicle. Approximately 50 towns were identified for the project. The fact that few records were collected from the twelve towns from which any records were found, underscores the ephemeral nature of such materials.
The materials include one folder pertaining to the administration and history of the project, as well as the questionnaires used by the volunteers. Some information about the towns can be found on these. The other folders hold the materials from 12 towns, respectively.
The towns represented in this collection are Braddock, Brownsville, Canonsburg, Clairton, Duquesne, East Liverpool, Indiana, Johnstown, Masontown, McKeesport, Midland, and Oil City-all in Pennsylvania. The materials collected from each town were sparse, in no case constituting more than one file folder. Included among the materials from congregations are by-laws (Duquesne ); member lists (Brownsville); histories (Canonsburg, East Liverpool, Indiana, Midland); and programs (Braddock, Duquesne, Johnstown); as well as clippings, a copied ledger, and other miscellaneous pieces.
The Synagogue Documentation Project records are housed in one archival box and are arranged chronologically.
This collection is open for research.
These materials came in one accession in 2000.
Acc.# 2000.0050 Gift of J. Robert Myers for the Synagogue Documentation Project.
Records of the Synagogue Documentation Project, 1904-1999, MSS# 317, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
This collection was processed by Rae Barent and Susan Melnick on August 2, 2000.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on January 10, 2002.
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.