Congregation Beth Israel
San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the 1880s, Jews were well-established in the Concho Valley and met for religious observance although they did not have a formal building. By 1926, there were approx. 35 Jewish families and individuals in San Angelo, and procedures to erect a synagogue began. The same year, a Sunday School and Young Judea chapter organized. Construction on the synagogue at W. Beauregard Ave. and Milton St. began once land was acquired from H.C. Ragsdale for $1500 on Apr. 7, 1928, with David Goldman as trustee for the congregation. The building dedication occurred on Mar. 24, 1929. Over the years there have been a Hadassah Women's Organization, a local chapter of B'Nai Brith, and a B'Nai Brith Youth Organization, whereby teens held monthly meetings with other Jewish youth in other cities in west Texas. During the 1940s through the 1960s there was a very active Jewish community here, most of whom were owners or associates in the city's retail businesses; many were immigrants or children of immigrants from eastern Europe. The synagogue never affiliated with any major division of Judaism, but has always remained independent. The congregation has served not only the spiritual needs of Jews in San Angelo but also those in many smaller towns, and as far as Midland, Odessa, and Abilene before their synagogues were built. Rabbi David Shnayerson served as spiritual leader from 1951-1966. Although there are only a few families left now, the congregation has continued to hold weekly and holiday services here since 1928. It is one of the oldest in Texas still doing so in its original building and is the most intact in its outward appearance and design. (2012)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Jewish families had settled the Concho Valley by the 1880s, and by the 1920s some three dozen households in San Angelo set out to build a synagogue, dedicating Congregation Beth Israel in 1929. Many were immigrants or the children of immigrants from Eastern Europe who ran the city's retail trade. Fiercely independent, the congregation never joined a national branch of Judaism and served Jews across a wide stretch of West Texas before other towns built their own synagogues.
Why it matters
As one of the oldest Texas congregations still worshipping in its original building, it testifies to the deep roots of Jewish immigrant life in small-town America.
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Related people
- · David Goldman
- · H.C. Ragsdale
- · Rabbi David Shnayerson
Themes & tags
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