Temple Israel (Stockton, California)
Encyclopedia
Temple Israel is a synagogue in Stockton, California
. It is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in California
.
The first building, on Miner Ave. between El Dorado and Hunter, was completed on Aug. 28, 1855. It was a simple, frame structure built on of brick foundation of wood that had been shipped around the Horn, since no sawmill yet existed in Stockton. During the flood of 1861-2 the building flooded with two feet of water, causing the congregation to move it to higher ground on Hunter Street.
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
. It is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in California
Oldest synagogues in the United States
The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
.
History
The congregation was founded during the goldrush as a Jewish society called Ryhim Ahovim (Heb. Loving Friends) by tradition in 1849 but documentably no later than 1850. Other sources say that the congregation was founded in 1851.The first building, on Miner Ave. between El Dorado and Hunter, was completed on Aug. 28, 1855. It was a simple, frame structure built on of brick foundation of wood that had been shipped around the Horn, since no sawmill yet existed in Stockton. During the flood of 1861-2 the building flooded with two feet of water, causing the congregation to move it to higher ground on Hunter Street.