Congregation Emanuel (Statesville, North Carolina)

Congregation Emanuel is a Conservative synagogue in Statesville, North Carolina. Built in 1891, it is the oldest house of worship in Statesville[1] and the third oldest synagogue building in the state.[2]

For similarly named synagogues, see Emanu-El.

The synagogue is located near downtown Statesville and the campus of Mitchell Community College at 206 North Kelly Street.

History

Jews are documented as living in Statesville before the Civil War, but the number of families was small and they gathered for prayer in private homes until a formal congregation was organized in 1883. Congregation Emanuel rented space for services in the Statesville Fireman's Hall for nine years before building a synagogue in 1891-2, at a time when Statesville had a sizeable Jewish population.[3]

Architecture

The brick, gable-end-to-the-street, Rundbogenstil building with its recessed, round-arch entrance and round-arch windows has suffered no major alterations in the century that it has served the Jewish community of Statesville.[4][5] It is one of fewer than a hundred nineteenth-century synagogue buildings still standing in the United States.[6]

References
  1. "Statesville, North Carolina Attractions". lasr.net.
  2. Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues, Mark W. Gordon, American Jewish History 84.1 (1996) 20-27 . 2019 article update.
  3. IREDELL EXHIBITS FOCUS ON JEWISH HERITAGE, Charlotte Observer, May 12, 1999
  4. Romanesque style seen in local buildings, Gene Krider | Statesville Record & Landmark, August 18, 2008 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2008-12-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Guide to Jewish U.S.A.: The South, By Oscar Israelowitz, 1988, p. 99
  6. "STATESVILLE SYNAGOGUE LEARNS IT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST IN THE NATION". Charlotte Observer. January 19, 1997.

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