Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Forrest City, Arkansas
Forrest City: Historical Overview
Forrest City, founded in 1869, developed as a stop along the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. The town takes its name from former Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, who served as the contractor for the construction of the railroad and built a commissary at Forrest City’s eventual location. The town became the seat of St. Francis County in 1874 and boasted a population of 900 individuals by 1880.
A handful of Jews had settled in Forrest City by the mid-1870s, and the most successful of them became significant figures in local economic civic life. To some extent, the Jewish community operated as a satellite of Jewish Memphis, located just 45 miles to the east. The proximity to a much larger Jewish center and the town’s small Jewish population made it difficult to establish lasting Jewish institutions, and local Jews only maintained their own congregation for a short time in the early 20th century.
A handful of Jews had settled in Forrest City by the mid-1870s, and the most successful of them became significant figures in local economic civic life. To some extent, the Jewish community operated as a satellite of Jewish Memphis, located just 45 miles to the east. The proximity to a much larger Jewish center and the town’s small Jewish population made it difficult to establish lasting Jewish institutions, and local Jews only maintained their own congregation for a short time in the early 20th century.
Early Jewish Settlers
A handful of Jews either lived or spent time near the eventual site of Forrest City even before its founding. The 1870 United States Census lists a household in the Franks Township that included G. Aultheimer (34, merchant, born in Hesse, Germany); Ben Aultheimer (20, merchant, born in Hesse, Germany); Adela Aultheimer (23, housekeeper, born in Baden, Germany); and J. Kalter (22, merchant, born in Baden, Germany).
Other Jewish families arrived in the area by the mid-1870s. Posen native M. Isaacs (c. 1835-1911) moved to Haynes around 1874 and relocated to Forrest City by 1877, where his second wife, Julia, died in an 1879 yellow fever outbreak. The family remained in Forrest City for decades and became part of a small, often interrelated Jewish community. When M. Isaacs eventually died, the local paper noted that he had experienced financial ups and downs in addition to the loss of two spouses. He had once been “at the head of one of the largest and wealthiest” mercantile businesses in the area but had also “met with reverses.”
M. Isaacs and his family ultimately did well for themselves, in large part because of the financial success of Julius Lesser, the brother of M. Isaac’s third wife, Rosa. Nearly 20 years younger than M. Isaacs, Lesser immigrated to Memphis from Germany around 1870. He does not seem to have lived in Forrest City, but in 1877 he married a local resident, Leonora Raphales, at the Isaacs home. By 1880 Julius and Leonora Raphales had moved to Marianna, about seventeen miles south of Forrest City. Lesser established a cotton business which eventually handled a majority of the cotton grown in the area. He later moved to St. Louis, where he became a partner in the Goldman-Lesser Cotton Company, worked in banking, and served as vice-president of the city council. Lesser, referred to as the “cotton compress king” retained an interest in eastern Arkansas, however; at one point five of his siblings lived in Forrest City or Marianna, and several relatives, including M. Isaacs, worked for the Goldman-Lesser Cotton Company.
Additional Jewish residents included Alexander Becker and Charles Lewis, German-born business partners who came to Forrest City in 1875 and soon emerged as two of the most prominent businessmen in town. They opened a large dry goods store and even built an opera house on the store’s second floor. Max Yoffe came in the 1890s, and established a retail store. He became an important civic leader and served on the city council.
In the early twentieth century, a small number of recent Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in Forrest City. Most had lived elsewhere in the region before coming to Forrest City, and many did not stay very long. Harry Warshavsky arrived in town in 1906. He initially settled in St. Louis, where he began to peddle in the surrounding area. He first opened a store in Pocohontas, Arkansas, but then decided that Forrest City offered greater opportunity. Warshavsky later moved to El Dorado during that town’s oil boom.
Some of these Jewish families remained in Forrest City, becoming vital parts of civic and economic life After leaving Russia, Sam Sharpe settled in Memphis and became a tailor. He moved to Forrest City in 1914. Sharpe was an active leader in the local Masonic Lodge, and the Masonic Hall was named in his honor after his death. His son Harold was a longtime lawyer in Forrest City. In 1962 Harold Sharpe helped to form a second country club in Forrest City after the first one refused to accept Jews. Max Cohen, another longtime businessman, started his store in Forrest City 1933, and his son Barry took it over in 1980.
While Jewish businesspeople often started out in clothing and general merchandise, they often ended up in other industries. The Cohn family started out with a penny store, built up a small chain, and later went into the grocery wholesale business. Esrael Snyder was a peddler who was based out of Little Rock. After traveling through several towns in Arkansas, he decided to settle in Forrest City and opened a scrap metal business. His son-in-law, Louis Barg, eventually took it over. He formed the Barg Steel and Pipe Company in 1974. Barg was active in the local community, serving as the chairman of many local charities. He was also a justice of the peace for a few years.
Other Jewish families arrived in the area by the mid-1870s. Posen native M. Isaacs (c. 1835-1911) moved to Haynes around 1874 and relocated to Forrest City by 1877, where his second wife, Julia, died in an 1879 yellow fever outbreak. The family remained in Forrest City for decades and became part of a small, often interrelated Jewish community. When M. Isaacs eventually died, the local paper noted that he had experienced financial ups and downs in addition to the loss of two spouses. He had once been “at the head of one of the largest and wealthiest” mercantile businesses in the area but had also “met with reverses.”
M. Isaacs and his family ultimately did well for themselves, in large part because of the financial success of Julius Lesser, the brother of M. Isaac’s third wife, Rosa. Nearly 20 years younger than M. Isaacs, Lesser immigrated to Memphis from Germany around 1870. He does not seem to have lived in Forrest City, but in 1877 he married a local resident, Leonora Raphales, at the Isaacs home. By 1880 Julius and Leonora Raphales had moved to Marianna, about seventeen miles south of Forrest City. Lesser established a cotton business which eventually handled a majority of the cotton grown in the area. He later moved to St. Louis, where he became a partner in the Goldman-Lesser Cotton Company, worked in banking, and served as vice-president of the city council. Lesser, referred to as the “cotton compress king” retained an interest in eastern Arkansas, however; at one point five of his siblings lived in Forrest City or Marianna, and several relatives, including M. Isaacs, worked for the Goldman-Lesser Cotton Company.
Additional Jewish residents included Alexander Becker and Charles Lewis, German-born business partners who came to Forrest City in 1875 and soon emerged as two of the most prominent businessmen in town. They opened a large dry goods store and even built an opera house on the store’s second floor. Max Yoffe came in the 1890s, and established a retail store. He became an important civic leader and served on the city council.
In the early twentieth century, a small number of recent Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in Forrest City. Most had lived elsewhere in the region before coming to Forrest City, and many did not stay very long. Harry Warshavsky arrived in town in 1906. He initially settled in St. Louis, where he began to peddle in the surrounding area. He first opened a store in Pocohontas, Arkansas, but then decided that Forrest City offered greater opportunity. Warshavsky later moved to El Dorado during that town’s oil boom.
Some of these Jewish families remained in Forrest City, becoming vital parts of civic and economic life After leaving Russia, Sam Sharpe settled in Memphis and became a tailor. He moved to Forrest City in 1914. Sharpe was an active leader in the local Masonic Lodge, and the Masonic Hall was named in his honor after his death. His son Harold was a longtime lawyer in Forrest City. In 1962 Harold Sharpe helped to form a second country club in Forrest City after the first one refused to accept Jews. Max Cohen, another longtime businessman, started his store in Forrest City 1933, and his son Barry took it over in 1980.
While Jewish businesspeople often started out in clothing and general merchandise, they often ended up in other industries. The Cohn family started out with a penny store, built up a small chain, and later went into the grocery wholesale business. Esrael Snyder was a peddler who was based out of Little Rock. After traveling through several towns in Arkansas, he decided to settle in Forrest City and opened a scrap metal business. His son-in-law, Louis Barg, eventually took it over. He formed the Barg Steel and Pipe Company in 1974. Barg was active in the local community, serving as the chairman of many local charities. He was also a justice of the peace for a few years.
Organized Jewish Life
Forrest City’s small Jewish community reached 49 individuals in 1920, most of them members of East European families. A number of these households belonged to the Orthodox Baron Hirsch synagogue in Memphis, but with poor roads linking the two cities, they were not able to worship there regularly. One of their biggest concerns was the Jewish education of their children; some Jewish parents sent their children to Christian Sunday schools on days when the lessons were covering the Hebrew bible. In response, Jean Warshavsky wrote to Rabbi Samuel at Baron Hirsch asking for his help in forming a Sunday school for the dozen or so Jewish children in Forrest City. He sent some educational materials to Warshavsky, and encouraged the community to form a congregation.
In 1914 local Jews founded Tifereth Israel (Glory of Israel), and began to bring in a cantor for the High Holidays. They held services in Hebrew at the local Odd Fellows Hall. By 1919 congregation claimed twenty families, but the group soon languished and had to be reestablished in 1920. Rabbi Jerome Mark of the congregation in Helena, Arkansas, helped to reorganize Tifereth Israel and its religious school. From then on, the congregation worshiped in the Reform style, though many members continued to belong to Baron Hirsch in Memphis as well. Traditional Jewish observance was very difficult in a place like Forrest City, where economic necessity forced most business owners to work on Saturdays and kosher meat was not readily available. Tifereth Israel eventually disbanded as Forrest City Jews went to Memphis for religious services, a trip made much easier once the interstate highway was built.
The relative lack of religious resources in Forrest City did not stop local Jews from preserving their traditions. Louis Barg remained an active member of the Orthodox Baron Hirsch Synagogue, driving his children to Memphis each Sunday for religious school in the 1940s and 1950s. Barg was also a leader in B’nai B’rith, serving as head of the group's Arkansas region as well as an international vice president. After the congregation disbanded, the local B’nai B’rith lodge served as the focal point of Jewish life in Forrest City. Many members came from surrounding towns.
In 1914 local Jews founded Tifereth Israel (Glory of Israel), and began to bring in a cantor for the High Holidays. They held services in Hebrew at the local Odd Fellows Hall. By 1919 congregation claimed twenty families, but the group soon languished and had to be reestablished in 1920. Rabbi Jerome Mark of the congregation in Helena, Arkansas, helped to reorganize Tifereth Israel and its religious school. From then on, the congregation worshiped in the Reform style, though many members continued to belong to Baron Hirsch in Memphis as well. Traditional Jewish observance was very difficult in a place like Forrest City, where economic necessity forced most business owners to work on Saturdays and kosher meat was not readily available. Tifereth Israel eventually disbanded as Forrest City Jews went to Memphis for religious services, a trip made much easier once the interstate highway was built.
The relative lack of religious resources in Forrest City did not stop local Jews from preserving their traditions. Louis Barg remained an active member of the Orthodox Baron Hirsch Synagogue, driving his children to Memphis each Sunday for religious school in the 1940s and 1950s. Barg was also a leader in B’nai B’rith, serving as head of the group's Arkansas region as well as an international vice president. After the congregation disbanded, the local B’nai B’rith lodge served as the focal point of Jewish life in Forrest City. Many members came from surrounding towns.
The Decline of Forrest City’s Jewish Community
Industrial growth and the construction of Interstate 40 bolstered the local economy and helped retain a small Jewish population into the late 20th century, but the Jewish population ultimately declined. A reported 37 Jews who lived in Forrest City in 1937, but that number fell significantly in subsequent decades, and the community eventually ceased to be active altogether. Their proximity to Memphis likely compounded the effects of the small local population and discouraged local Jews from establishing long lasting institutions.
Updated March 2024.