B'nai Zion Synagogue, a 1869 edifice at 320 Fannin St. Cornerstone laid July 27, 1869. Dr. Henry S. Jacobs of New Orleans' Temple Sinai, Rev. (sic) George Jacobs of New Orlean's Portugese Congregation Nefutzoth Yehudah (now Touro Synagogue), and Rev. Max Samfield of Shreveport presided. Masons officiating were led by S. M. Acker, Grand Master of Lodge 115, F & A M. Contents of cornerstone were coins: US 50c of 1854; US 25c of 1858; US 1c of 1854 (large cent); US 1/2 dime (date not noted); US 50c (date not noted), engraved "M. KAUFMAN" on one side; Spanish silver dollar of 1814. Also: several prayer books (which had rotted away by time cornerstone was opened in 1914), 3 Shreveport and 3 NYC newspapers of 1869, etc. The newspapers were "Shreveport News" July 23, 1869; "Caddo Gazette" July 2, 1869; "Southwestern" July 27, 1869; "NY Hebrew Leader" July 16, 1869; "NY Jewish Messenger" July 15, 1869; "NY American Israelite" July 16, 1869. All items from 1869 cornerstone were replaced in cornerstone when transferred to new (802 Cotton St.) Synagogue, April 22, 1914. (see TIMES Apr. 23, 1914 issue).
B'nai Zion (Hebrew Zion) Congregation membership in 1869 included the families of S. M. Acker; Marx Baer; G. Blum; I. Baer; J. A. Bergman; Isaac Barron; S. Bahr; F. Calm; Henry Dreyfuss; H. T. Dreyfuss; P. T. L. Frank; Simon Herold; Nathan Hirsch; Simon Kahn; Julius Kahn; Raphael Kahn; Moise Kahn; Aaron Kahn; Theophile Kahn; Mose Kaufmann, Sr.; Moses Kaufmann, Jr.; Marx Mayer Kaufmann; Henry Levy; Mose Levy; Sam Levy; Capt. Simon Levy, Jr - President; E. J. Leman; J. Langenbach; Max Moch; Charles Meyer; A. Moritz; Maj. Dave March; Aaron Rothschild; M. Rosenheim; M. Rosengarden; Abe Sour; Sol Simon; H. Simon; Leon Strauss; I. Strauss, Jr.; A. Teah; Abraham Winter; Asher Weinstock; M. Weinstock; and S. Weil.
Prior to the 1866 charter of B'nai Zion (Hebrew Zion) Temple, 25 Jewish families in Shreveport were affiliated with some communal organization (IOBB, HMBA, or Congregation Har El -- forerunner to B'nai Zion, etc.). By 1871, 210 families were associated with the Jewish Community of Shreveport. Dissention between Orthodox and Reform practitioners led to a split in B'nai Zion Congregation in 1875, which resulted in the creation of two congregations: the Reform Hebrew Zion and the Orthodox Emmanu-El (led by Rabbi Dr. Benson). The two eventually re-merged to re-form Congregation B'nai Zion (for which a new charter was adopted in 1915. A splinter group, Congregation Beth El, continued Orthodox practice through the 1920s. They were Ashkenazic in practice and unrelated to the Sephardic Orthodox Congregation Agudath Achim that formed as Congregation Beth Yosef in 1892 and re-chartered as Agudath Achim in 1902. Charter Members of Congregation B'nai Zion (Chartered April 2, 1866/17 Nisan 5626): Abraham Winter; Marx Baer; Felix Cahn; Henry Levy; Peter F. L. Frank; Edward Eberstadt; Isar (Asher) Weinstock; Capt. Simon Levy, Jr.; Abraham Sour. (None were still living in 1915).
Early records of the Congregation are said to have been destroyed in an 1882 fire, however there is no record of any fire ever having occurred at the Fannin St. Synagogue. Besides this fact, present cemetery records begin at August 1886, not 1882 as would be logical had a fire occurred then, destroying previous records. Also, records of Congregation Emmanu-El (which met in the same building as Hebrew Zion) exist intact from 1875 on. Hebrew Zion records, however, do not begin until 1898, with the exception of the cemetery records beginning in 1886. Jewish burials, however, began in 1853. The first Shreveport Jewish Cemetery was dedicated in July 1858. B'NAI ZION TEMPLE, 1914 - 1956 SYNAGOGUE 1914 edifice, 802 Cotton St., Shreveport, Louisiana Planning for new synagogue began in 1906, cornerstone laid May 6, 1914. Source: Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877 (318) 797-6765: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Contact him for more details on any of these.
Agudath Achim congregation history and photos. "Beth El members bought land for a cemetery on Walnut Street through their burial group, Chessed Shel Emeth. Around the same time, Levi Groner was president of another small Orthodox congregation in Shreveport named Beth Joseph. Realizing that they needed to band together to survive, the two congregations merged and adopted the name Agudath Achim (Society of Brothers) in 1902. The new combined congregation, which totaled 58 original members, assumed ownership of the Orthodox burial grounds, which became known as Agudath Achim Cemetery, or Orthodox Hebrew Rest." [January 2009]
- Agudath Achim Cemetery (Orthodox Hebrew Rest): The Orthodox Hebrew Rest Cemetery (or Walnut Street Cemetery) more commonly known as Agudath Achim Cemetery was established by and for the Orthodox Jewish community of Shreveport, Louisiana, just prior to the founding of the Agudath Achim Congregation in 1902. On September 10, 1901, an Orthodox burial society, Chessed Shel Emeth, was formed. Agudath Achim Cemetery was the third of Shreveport's four Jewish cemeteries to be established. In 1994, it consists of lots 1 through 9, inclusive, of block 15 of the West End Subdivision, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. For purposes of locating graves in the following list, the cemetery is here divided into four sections. OS-W stands for the western half of the old section, that portion of the original cemetery closest to Yale Street. OS-E stands for the eastern half of the old section. NS-W indicates the western half of the new section, or that portion to one's left upon entering the main gate. NS-E indicates the eastern half of the new section, or that potion of the cemetery annex to one's right upon entering the main gate. A map is at the cemetery in custody of the resident sexton. Currently [@1992) in use. Source: Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877 (318) 797-6765, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Agudath Achim Synagogue's historian is Susan Gross: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [December 2000].
- Fair Grounds:
- Hebrew Rest Cemetery: at AJA contact form . American Jewish Archives, 3101 Clifton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 45220-2488. 513-221-1875 (tel); 513-221-7812 (fax). E-mail: AJA contact form : An Exhaustive Study of Hebrew Rest Cemetery Number One (the Jewish Section of Oakland Cemetery), Shreveport, Louisiana; compiled by Eric J. Brock. 1992. SC-13859: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Hebrew Rest I: 1858 (section of Oakland Cem., 1st known Jewish burial there dated 1853) (Congregation B'nai Zion) ; source: Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877 (318) 797-6765: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- (The Jewish section of Oakland Cemetery) (Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, 1977) Est. July 1858. Earlier burials were in adjacent Oakland Cemetery. Generally, Hebrew Rest Number One follows the Eastern European Jewish tradition of the extremely cohesive community extending even unto death. The last burial to take place at Hebrew Rest Number One was in 1950. The cemetery occupies a rectangular swath of land 173 feet in length and 64 feet in width. There are 254 grave spaces within this section, 151 of which bear grave-markers. How many unmarked graves contain interments is unknown; no burial records exist prior to 1886. The entire cemetery measures 11,072 square feet, or about 1/4 of an acre. This includes the section occupied by the stair-steps at the pedestrian gate at the northeast comer, as well as the 79 inch wide swatch of depressed ground running the length of the Sprague Street (north) side, and the 65 inch wide section of depressed ground running the length of the Municipal Plaza, formerly Baker Street, [east] side). The average dimensions of individual grave spaces are 45 inches in width by 100 inches in length. Children's graves average 30 inches in width by 60 inches in length. The majority of graves in row 1 (with five exceptions) are children's graves; all graves in row 1 - A are children's graves; all graves in the remaining rows are adult graves with very few exceptions.
- A retaining wall runs along the entire length of the north and east sides of the cemetery and is continuous with the retaining wall surrounding the whole of adjacent Oakland Cemetery. The City of Shreveport erected this wall, of pressed concrete imitating limestone, in 1905 according to City Council records; the Shreveport firm of Chatwin Brothers was awarded the contract for the job. Along the eastern side of Hebrew Rest Number One, the wall is tiered with 65 inches of unused green space separating the tiers. This tiered effect exists only in Hebrew Rest Number One and does not, like the lower retaining wall, extend to the rest of Oakland Cemetery, nor does it continue on the north side of Hebrew Rest Number One. Atop the retaining wall (where tiered, atop the lower tier) runs a squat cast iron spiked fence, 30 inches high, made by the Stewart Iron Works of Cincinnati, Ohio. The lower tier of the retaining wall measures 44.5 inches high, the upper tier measures 35 inches in height.
- There are five and one-half rows of graves in Hebrew Rest Number One. Rows commence at the north end of the cemetery and run to the south end. Graves face east with most monuments standing at the foot of the grave (as opposed to the head) and with (in most, but not all, cases) the inscription carved on the western face of the stone. Row 1 is the western-most row; row 5 is the eastern-most, facing out onto what was formerly Baker Street (now the Municipal Plaza, a large parking lot/park constructed in 1982). Row 1-A runs almost half the length of the cemetery, midway between rows 1 and 2, commencing at the imposing monument of Captain and Mrs. Simon Levy, Jr. at the north end and running south to the southern-most edge of the cemetery, indeed ending at the odd 100 inch wide gap mentioned previously. Row 1 contains 49 grave spaces, of which 26 bear markers. Row 1-A contains l7 grave spaces, of which 11 bear markers. Row 2 contains 49 grave spaces, of which 31 bear markers. Row 3 contains 48 graves paces, of which 36 bear markers. Row 4 contains 46 grave spaces, of which 26 bear markers. Row 5 contains 45 grave spaces, of which 2l bear markers.
- It can be verified that at least ten graves were moved from Hebrew Rest Number One to Hebrew Rest Number Two, 1473 Texas Avenue, after its opening in 1886. The first burial to be made in Hebrew Rest Number Two occurred on August 11, 1886, thereafter it was the more frequently used of the two cemeteries, though burials continued to be made at Hebrew Rest Number One as late as 1950. The primary difference between the first two Hebrew Rest Cemeteries is their layout. Hebrew Rest Number One is planned in a distinctly old-world Jewish tradition which used every inch of land, leaving space neither for walkways, alleyways for vehicles, or for plantings. Neither did the concept of family plots exist. Rather, the whole "family of Israel" was buried together in more or less the chronological order in which they died. Graves are densely packed together and markers are so close they give a very crowded appearance. The concept of disrespect for a gravesite by treading upon it did not exist among these early Jews and, indeed, the only way of getting through the cemetery, or getting from one grave to another, is by walking over those in between. Source: Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877 (318) 797-6765: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Hebrew Rest Number Two: {10196} (Congregation B'nai Zion) Now commonly called simply "Hebrew Rest Cemetery," opened on Texas Avenue, on August 11,1886. Considerably larger than Hebrew Rest Number One, it was created when it became clear that the older cemetery could not fill the needs of the growing community much longer. Few burials are made at Hebrew Rest Number Two anymore, although the occasional interment is made there, though lots are no longer available for purchase. Hebrew Rest Number Two is divided into spacious family plots with walks in between and plenty of room for shrubs and flowers. Hebrew Rest Number Two follows the decidedly Western European/American Victorian concept of the family as a singular unit separate from the rest of the community, whose individual property was marked off by walls, walks, shrubs, fences, and other dividers, in death even as in life. The comparison of the two cemeteries is an interesting study in the Americanization and assimilation of early-to-mid nineteenth-century Jewish immigrants to the American Deep South. Fencing encloses the whole of the cemetery. The original iron fence survives only on the Texas Avenue side with a small portion remaining on the I-49 side at the end nearest Texas Avenue. The remainder of the cemetery boundary is fenced with chain link. Fortunately, the chain link fencing is largely obscured by vegetation. Large trees front the cemetery on its Texas Avenue side but there are no trees at all within the cemetery with the exception of a large oak near the northwest corner and a few large crepe myrtles near the rear of the cemetery. Trees do, however, grow along the fences on all sides creating the illusion that there is more foliage here than there is. The original fence along Texas Avenue is of heavy cast iron source: Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877 (318) 797-6765: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Hebrew Rest III: 1933 (section of Greenwood Cemetery) (also called the Greenwood Jewish Section) (Cong. B'nai Zion). In 1933 a fourth Jewish cemetery was established by the Reform Temple B'nai Zion. This cemetery, known as "Hebrew Rest Number Three," in the beginning, is now commonly called "The Greenwood Jewish Section," for it is adjacent to Greenwood Cemetery, the second municipal non-sectarian cemetery established by the city of Shreveport. Greenwood Cemetery, proper, opened in 1892 when the older Oakland Cemetery, in continued use for at least fifty years, became filled. Temple B'nai Zion's historian is Eric J. Brock, Historic Preservation & Planning Consulting, P.O. Box 5877 Shreveport, LA 71135-5877 (318) 797-6765: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Oakland Cemetery: (a non-sectarian municipal burying ground) Oldest burial area used by Jews. Used before Hebrew Rest Cemetery Number One. Only two original tombstones of Jews dated prior to the consecration of the first Jewish cemetery remain -- both at Oakland -- dated, respectively, 1853 and 1854). After the dedication of this, the first Jewish cemetery in the City of Shreveport, some Jews continued to be buried in the nonsectarian part of Oakland Cemetery, mostly these were intermarried persons whose spouses had not converted. Near the thoroughfare known as Milam Street, originally called Reynolds Street where it runs along the south side of Oakland Cemetery, is a section of the cemetery known, originally, as "The Cottonfield." This wide open section is actually the most densely "populated" part of Oakland Cemetery, as it is the location of several mass graves from epidemics, especially yellow fever, and especially the great epidemic of yellow fever which struck Shreveport in August - November 1873. Most Jewish victims of this epidemic were buried in row 3 of Hebrew Rest Number One, merely a few hundred yards away. Several were buried in the mass trench graves that were dug hurriedly in the "cotton field" section in order to accommodate the rapid burial of the many who died every day. It may be that some of the monuments erected in Hebrew Rest Number One actually stand over empty graves, the persons they commemorate having been buried in the mass graves, or "yellow fever mounds" of the "cottonfield." This is fairly unlikely, however, though certainly not outside the realm of possibility. At least sixteen Jews and possibly more are believed to be buried in the mass graves of the yellow fever victims. It may also be possible that these persons are, in fact, buried in Hebrew Rest Number One but without monuments on their graves. How many Jews intermarried with Christians and were buried in family plots in the non- sectarian section of the cemetery is unknown. Also some Confederate soldiers buried here. [Source?}