MOUNT ZION HEBREW CONGREGATION (SAINT PAUL, MINN.):

Mount Zion Hebrew Congregation (St. Paul), the first Jewish congregation in Minnesota, was incorporated on February 26, 1857, as the Mount Zion Hebrew Association. Services had been held in St. Paul before this date. Some prominent early members included Henry Cali (Cole), Jacob Newman, Joseph Ullman, as well as Isador Rose and members of his family.

In 1869, the congregation was reorganized, and in 1870, its first temple was constructed at Tenth and Minnesota streets in downtown St. Paul. In 1872, its name was changed to the Mount Zion Hebrew Congregation. A second temple was erected at Tenth and Minnesota in 1882, in which the congregation remained until 1904, when it moved to a new temple at Holly and Avon streets in the Cathedral Hill neighbourhood. In 1954, the congregation moved to its present location on Summit Avenue at Hamline Avenue.

Mount Zion joined the Union of Hebrew Congregations in 1878 and is associated with Reform Judaism. Throughout its existence, Mount Zion contributed much to the Jewish community in St. Paul and to the city at large. Its members were active in all phases of community life, particularly social and philanthropic; and its rabbis participated in many types of civic and religious enterprises.

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Historical data on the congregation, including constitution and bylaws; correspondence and related papers providing information on its routine business and activities, membership and dues, Mount Zion Cemetery affairs, various Jewish religious and social organizations with which the congregation had contact, the new temple constructed at Holly and Avon streets, activity of Jews in World War I, anti-Semitism in Germany and the U.S. (1930s), Jewish refugees (1930s-1940s), the military service of congregation members during World War II, and the new temple at Summit and Hamline avenues. The collection contains information about several of St. Paul's prominent Jewish families.

Also included are annual reports); financial records, including ledgers, dues, and audits; papers dealing with youth activities, including confirmations, high school graduations, religious school, and youth newsletters; and minutes of meetings of the board of administration.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1857, 1870-1903: There are many brochures relating to Hebrew books used in the temple and a large number of receipts issued to the congregation by St. Paul business firms (retained because of a lack of financial data from this period). Also includes legal papers, particularly those relating to Mount Zion Cemetery; seating charts in the temple; deeds to individual pews; statements of dues paid to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; membership lists; lists of burials in the cemetery; letters of resignation from the temple; and correspondence relating to the hiring of rabbis. Letter writers of particular interest: Julius Austrian, Mrs. Julius Austrian, Rachel Austrian, Marx Austrian, Rabbi Isaac N. Cohen, Joseph Elsinger, Rabbi Isaac L. Rypins, Jacob Ullman, Rabbi Judah Wechsler.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1900 to 1910: Many of the papers during these years concern the congregation's move to the new temple at Holly and Avon and the sale of the old temple to the Congregation of B'nai Abraham. There are copies of reports on yearly activities, reports by the rabbi, treasurer's reports, and reports on Sabbath School activities. Contacts with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Jewish Chautauqua Society (Philadelphia), and the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith are documented. Also included are data on the Board of Administration meetings, the cemetery, the dedication of the new temple, contributions to the building fund, and applications for membership in the congregation. Letter writers include: Joseph H. Elsinger, George H. Fairclough, Hiram D. Frankel, Gustavus Loevinger, Isaac Rose, Rabbi Isaac L. Rypins, and Mrs. Isaac L. Rypins.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1911 to 1919: Papers for this period include information on cemetery lots, dues paid to the congregation by members, applications for membership, annual reports from individuals and organization, and correspondence with the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Additional information concerns the hiring of singers for the choir, the salary of the organist (George H. Fairclough), and a few items relating to World War I, including letters from men from the congregation who served in the war. Correspondence with the American Jewish Relief Committee, the Jewish National Fund Bureau, and the Jewish Welfare Board document activities of Jews during the war. Letter writers include: George H. Fairclough, Hiram D. Frankel, Clarence H. Johnston, and Albert N. Rose.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1920 to 1929: Papers during this period include applications for membership, payment of dues by members and protests from some members on this subject, annual reports of the rabbi and congregational leaders, appointment of G.A. Thornton as organist, employment of singers for the choir, and organizations for Jewish victims of war: the Central Committee for the Relief of Jews Suffering Through the War (New York City) and the Palestine Emergency Fund ((New York City). The latter was organized to aid Jewish victims of Arab riots in Palestine. There is continued correspondence with the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Also found are marriage applications, certificates of individuals converted to Judaism, protests against the political pronouncements of Rabbi Leonard J. Rothstein, the appointment of Harry S. Margolis as Rothstein's successor, the beginnings of the plans to construct a Jewish educational center, matters relating to the Hebrew Union College Alumni Association, repairs to the temple, the congregation's seventieth anniversary (1927), protests against anti-Semitic overtones in the movie "King of Kings," and plans for the formation of a Junior Congregation of Mount Zion. Letter writers for the period 1920 to 1929 include David Bryn-Jones, Donald J. Cowling, Clarence Darrow, Frederick M. Eliot, Morris Fishbein, Glenn Frank, Hubert C. Herring, John W. Herring, John Haynes Holmes, Clarence H. Johnston, Frank B. Kellogg, Gustavus Loevinger, Jacob Meyerovitz, Albert G. Minda, Knute K. Rockne, Albert N. Rose, Nathan I. Rose, Milton Rosen, and Isaac L. Rypins.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1930 to 1939: Routine items include annual reports, matters pertaining to the cemetery, applications for membership, marriage licenses, certificates of conversion, contracts for singers in the choir, payment of dues, and resignations from the congregation. The latter were of particular importance during the depression era because of limited income. Many documents reflect Rabbi Margolis' broad interest in national and international events. There is information on the Religious Freedom Day organization, support for S.812 (the Wagner unemployment bill in the United States Senate), opposition to capital punishment, Margolis' work as an arbitrator in a seniority dispute in the Peerless Laundry Company (St. Paul), and the League for Labor Palestine. After 1933, there are references to the persecution of Jews in Germany and to growing antisemitism in the United States. The years 1938 and 1939 revealed the urgency of the Jewish refugee problem and the efforts to obtain visas for Jews leaving Europe, including relatives of Rabbi Margolis. There is also information on the Council of Jewish Social Agencies, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and the Jewish Chautauqua Society. Letter writers include Theodore Christianson, Donald J. Cowling, Frederick M. Eliot, Richard A. Golling, Howard Kahn, Ludwig Lewisohn, Gustavus Loevinger, Mady Metzger, Kirby Page, Drew Pearson, Channing Pollock, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Milton Rosen, Henrik Shipstead, and Charles P. Taft.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1940 to 1949: Papers from this period include applications for membership, resignations, committees, and dues to be paid. There is also information on Jewish refugees, particularly members of Rabbi Margolis' family who left Germany; a number of letters from Mount Zion men serving in the armed forces, lists of Jewish books and materials to be used in the Sabbath School, the hiring of cantors, the beginnings of the plans to construct a new temple on Summit Avenue, brochures advertising Jewish lecturers and performers, the death of Rabbi Margolis and memorials for him, letters to and from Rabbi Saul B. Appelbaum, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the selection of W. Gunther Plaut as rabbi in 1948, and the visit to St. Paul of Jacob R. Marcus. Additional items document the activities of the St. Paul Urban League, the Jewish Welfare Board, and discussions surrounding the appointment of a religious coordinator at the University of Minnesota. Letter writers include Saul B. Appelbaum, John DeQuedville Briggs, Sigmund Braverman, Manfred Hecht, Jacob R. Marcus, Albert G. Minda, James L. Morrill, Charles N. Pace, George M. Stephenson, and Charles J. Turck.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1950 to 1955: Most of the documents in this period relate to the sale of the old temple to the Sons of Moses (Congregation Beth Gedaliah Leib) and the construction of the new temple on Summit Avenue, and its furnishings. Minutes of the Board of Administration (June-December 1951, February-October 1952) are present. Many of the letters are written by Benno F. Wolff, president of the congregation.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Mount Zion Hebrew Congregation Organizational Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 10,953

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, September 2024.

The illustrative image at the top of this finding aid is taken from the Minnesota Historical Society Sound and Visual Collections.

Catalog ID number: 990017319160104294

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Interfiled in the chronological correspondence is personal correspondence of Rabbi Harry S. Margolis, spiritual leader of the congregation from 1925 to 1946. There are also a number of letters prior to Rabbi Margolis' arrival in St. Paul.

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Nos. 1-20 below are bound volumes.

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Administrative and other records of Mount Zion Temple are at the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Other records of Mount Zion Hebrew Congregation are at the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Antisemitism -- Europe.

Antisemitism -- United States.

Depressions -- 1929 -- United States.

Fraternal organizations.

Jewish cemeteries -- Minnesota.

Jewish converts -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Jewish musicians -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Jewish refugees.

Jewish women -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Jews -- Charities.

Jews -- Education.

Jews -- Europe.

Jews -- Minnesota.

Judaism -- Liturgy.

Real property -- Wisconsin.

Reform Judaism -- Minnesota.

Religion.

Synagogues -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

World War, 1914-1918.

World War, 1939-1945.

Persons:

Appelbaum, Saul B., author.

Austrian, Julius, 1821-1891, author.

Baring, Oscar, author.

Beale, F. Rutledge, author.

Braverman, Sigmund, 1894-1960, author.

Briggs, John DeQuedville, 1885-1962, author.

Bryn-Jones, David, 1882-1976, author.

Christianson, Theodore, 1883-1948, author.

Cohen, Isaac N., 1820- , author.

Cowling, Donald J. (Donald John), 1880-1965, author.

Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938, author.

Eliot, Frederick May, 1889-1958, author.

Fairclough, George H. (George Herbert), 1869-1954, author.

Fishbein, Morris, 1889-1976, author.

Frank, Glenn, 1887-1940, author.

Frankel, Hiram David, 1882-1931, author.

Golling, Richard A., 1905-1956, author.

Hecht, Manfred, author.

Heilbron, Bertha L. (Bertha Lion), 1895-1972, author.

Herring, Hubert Clinton, 1889-1967, author.

Herring, John Woodbridge, 1891- , author.

Hess, Sylvan E. , author.

Holmes, John Haynes, 1879-1964, author.

Johnston, Clarence H. (Clarence Howard), 1859-1936, author.

Kahn, Howard, 1886-1951, author.

Kellogg, Frank B. (Frank Billings), 1856-1937, author.

Lewisohn, Ludwig, 1882-1955, author.

Loevinger, Gustavus, 1881-1957, author.

Marcus, Jacob Rader, 1896-1995, author.

Margolis, Harry Sterling, 1897-1946, author.

Metzger, Mady Ziegler, author.

Meyerovitz, Jacob I., author.

Minda, Albert G. (Albert Greenberg), 1895-1977, author.

Morrill, J. L. (James Lewis), 1891-1979, author.

Pace, Charles Nelson, 1877-1954, author.

Page, Kirby, 1890-1957, author.

Pearson, Drew, 1897-1969, author.

Plaut, W. Gunther, 1912-2012, author.

Pollock, Channing, 1880-1946, author.

Rockne, Knute, 1888-1931, author.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945, author.

Rose, Albert Napoleon, 1867-1928, author.

Rose, Nathan I.

Rosen, Milton, 1893-1970, author.

Rypins, Isaac L., 1862-1951, author.

Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960, author.

Stephenson, George M. (George Malcolm), 1883-1958, author.

Taft, Charles P. (Charles Phelps), 1897-1983, author.

Turck, Charles Joseph, 1890-1989, author.

Ullman, Jacob, author.

Wechsler, Judah, 1833-1905, author.

Wolff, Benno F. (Benno Ferdinand), 1905- , author.

Firestone, Jacob.

Rothstein, Leonard J., 1880-

Austrian family.

Mannheimer family.

Rose family.

Organizations:

American Jewish Relief Committee for Sufferers from the War.

Central Conference of American Rabbis.

Independent Order of B'nai B'rith.

Jewish Chatauqua Society (Philadelphia, Pa.)

League for Labor Palestine.

National Jewish Welfare Board

Sisterhood of Mount Zion Temple (Saint Paul, Minn.)

St. Paul Council of Jewish Social Agencies (Saint Paul, Minn.)

Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Aleph Zadik Aleph.

Chel Jacob Congregation (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Chnesses Israel Congregation (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Hebrew Union College.

Woodmen of the World. Baron Hirsch Camp No. 28.

Places:

Minneapolis (Minn.)

Palestine -- History -- 1799-1917.

Palestine -- History -- 1917-1948.

Saint Paul (Minn.)

Document Types:

Letterheads.

Burial records.

Genealogies.

Marriage records.

History.

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