Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Overview
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Pine Bluff, incorporated in 1839, serves as the seat of Jefferson County in Southeast Arkansas. Located on the Arkansas River, Pine Bluff is a historical offspring of Arkansas Post, the first European settlement in Arkansas. The town arose as an early cotton trading center from which steamboats transported goods along the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. From the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, the city experienced a series of economic highs and lows. Ultimately, Pine Bluff’s population began to decline in the late 20th century, and the city suffered from high rates of violence and serious infrastructure problems in the following decades. Despite these hardships, the city remains significant in the 21st century, particularly because it is home to University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the oldest and largest historically Black university in Arkansas.
The first Jews came to Pine Bluff in the 1840s and began to form a religious community as early as the late 1850s. Local Jews founded Temple Anshe Emeth, the town's first and longest standing synagogue, in 1866. Pine Bluff’s Jewish community and institutions continued to thrive and grow throughout the next century, serving as a hub for Jewish life in the area. At one point in the early 20th century, the town boasted as many as three congregations. Although Pine Bluff remained a regional Jewish center late into the 20th century, its community began to disperse to other parts of Arkansas and beyond. In 2016 Pine Bluff’s last remaining synagogue, Anshe Emeth, closed its doors. |
RESOURCES
Pine Bluff Jewish Cemetery List |
Early Jewish Settlers
Euro-Americans and enslaved Black workers first settled near the eventual site of Pine Bluff in the 1820s while Arkansas was still a territory. Thanks to the town’s central location between the Arkansas River and Bayou Bartholomew—two major transportation routes in the 19th century—and the development of steamboat travel, Pine Bluff grew to be a major regional river port. Locals shipped labor-intensive row crops, primarily cotton, harvested on surrounding plantations to larger cities. Consequently, Pine Bluff’s economy, like that of Jefferson county, depended on the forced labor of enslaved people. Economic opportunities in the 1850s drew a wave of German immigrants to Pine Bluff, and along with them came a number of German Jews.
Although the earliest known Jew in Pine Bluff, Jacob Wolf, lived in the town for a few years in the 1840s, a larger population of Jews did not settle in Pine Bluff until the 1850s and 1860s. German Jew Max Weil, who was eventually joined by his brother Charles, opened up a bakery in 1852. Gabriel Meyer, another German Jew, had settled elsewhere, but relocated to Pine Bluff in 1856 due to flooding. Stories like Meyer’s were not uncommon—many Jewish settlers moved from one town to another before finding a suitable location for putting down roots.
Although the earliest known Jew in Pine Bluff, Jacob Wolf, lived in the town for a few years in the 1840s, a larger population of Jews did not settle in Pine Bluff until the 1850s and 1860s. German Jew Max Weil, who was eventually joined by his brother Charles, opened up a bakery in 1852. Gabriel Meyer, another German Jew, had settled elsewhere, but relocated to Pine Bluff in 1856 due to flooding. Stories like Meyer’s were not uncommon—many Jewish settlers moved from one town to another before finding a suitable location for putting down roots.
Isaac Altschul
The earliest depiction of the day-to-day Jewish life in the Pine Bluff area comes from the autobiography of Henry Morton Stanley. As a young man, Morton Stanley lived with and worked for Isaac Altschul, a German Jew who opened a country store near Pine Bluff in the 1850s. His autobiography notes that the store was surrounded by slave plantations and emphasizes the particularly brutal climate; locals contended not only with hot summers but also with tropical diseases, and Morton Stanley himself contracted malaria during his time there. According to Morton Stanley, Altschul faced social prejudice from the white, non-Jewish elite, having “earned the ill-opinion of the planter community by being a trader, a foreigner, and a Jew.” Unlike his Christian counterparts, Altschul did business on Sundays, when he opened his store for enslaved people from nearby plantations. Catering to enslaved Black customers may appear benevolent, but Altschul himself enslaved at least one Black man at the time. While Altschul’s ethnic background and business practices differentiated him from other white locals, he still benefited from the slave economy and white supremacy.
Organized Jewish Life
By the 1850s more than a dozen Jewish families lived in Pine Bluff proper. Records indicate that these early families began to gather for religious services by 1859. In the early 1860s Jewish community members started to organize a congregation, but the Civil War interrupted their initial efforts. During this time, Jews held services in homes like that of Solomon Solmson, led by lay leaders including Aaron Reinach and Max Weil. Efforts to establish a congregation resumed almost immediately after the war, and in 1866 they formed Congregation Anshe Emeth and purchased a building. On March 13, 1867, Anshe Emeth became the first Jewish congregation to receive a charter from the Arkansas state legislature. Shortly thereafter, Pine Bluff’s Jewish community also became the first Arkansas community to establish a B’nai B’rith chapter. By 1879, Pine Bluff was home to three of Arkansas’ eight chapters.
Anshe Emeth thrived in its first several decades. The congregation held holiday celebrations in City Hall, a mark of public acceptance, and adopted religious practices that better suited the small-town setting. While Pine Bluff’s first rabbis conducted fairly traditional services in Hebrew and German, the congregation transitioned to a more Reform-style service during the tenure of Rabbi Meyer Greenblatt (1876-1887). Reform services catered to families with children and U.S.-born young people, and the congregation started a religious school to promote Jewish education in the same period. The congregation continued to grow in membership and soon outgrew its original building. They commissioned a new building and began holding services there in 1902.
Anshe Emeth thrived in its first several decades. The congregation held holiday celebrations in City Hall, a mark of public acceptance, and adopted religious practices that better suited the small-town setting. While Pine Bluff’s first rabbis conducted fairly traditional services in Hebrew and German, the congregation transitioned to a more Reform-style service during the tenure of Rabbi Meyer Greenblatt (1876-1887). Reform services catered to families with children and U.S.-born young people, and the congregation started a religious school to promote Jewish education in the same period. The congregation continued to grow in membership and soon outgrew its original building. They commissioned a new building and began holding services there in 1902.
Anshe Emeth's second synagogue, built in 1902, photographed in June, 2023.
In spite of widespread acceptance among white non-Jews, Pine Bluff Jews sometimes revealed anxiety about their social position. For example, on the 50th anniversary of Anshe Emeth’s founding, Rabbi Raphael Goldenstein stated that he hoped the celebration would allow the community to emphasize “the fact that the Jewish people of the city are no interlopers on the scene, but old settlers who have labored for decades to build up the life of the city with their energy, their means, and their enthusiasm.” Those words, written in 1917, may have reflected Rabbi Goldenstein’s—and possibly the general Jewish community’s—concern that rising nativism in the early 20th-century United States threatened the goodwill that “fellow Christian citizens” had previously extended to local Jews.
The desire for acceptance from the white, Christian community often went hand in hand with a reluctance to address gender and racial inequality, and briefly led to a schism in Anshe Emeth. Rabbi Leonard Rothstein took over synagogue leadership after Rabbi Goldenstein left in 1918, and the new hire soon undertook various social justice projects both within and beyond the Anshe Emeth community. Among other actions, he abolished the old pew system and opened up membership positions to women. Several members of the community found Rothstein “too extreme” in his social justice work and broke away to form their own congregation, Temple Israel, in 1921. Temple Israel closed in 1925, due to the departure of Rabbi Louis Brav, at which point its members rejoined Anshe Emeth under the new leadership of Rabbi Mayer Lippman. (Some local Jewish families had maintained membership in both congregations for the duration of the split.)
The desire for acceptance from the white, Christian community often went hand in hand with a reluctance to address gender and racial inequality, and briefly led to a schism in Anshe Emeth. Rabbi Leonard Rothstein took over synagogue leadership after Rabbi Goldenstein left in 1918, and the new hire soon undertook various social justice projects both within and beyond the Anshe Emeth community. Among other actions, he abolished the old pew system and opened up membership positions to women. Several members of the community found Rothstein “too extreme” in his social justice work and broke away to form their own congregation, Temple Israel, in 1921. Temple Israel closed in 1925, due to the departure of Rabbi Louis Brav, at which point its members rejoined Anshe Emeth under the new leadership of Rabbi Mayer Lippman. (Some local Jewish families had maintained membership in both congregations for the duration of the split.)
As Pine Bluff’s Jewish population grew, the Jewish community became more diverse in practice, and the town supported both Reform and Orthodox congregations in the early 20th century. Eastern European Jews started arriving in Pine Bluff in the late 1800s, and by 1907 enough had settled in the town to establish an Orthodox congregation, B’nai Israel. Initially, lay leaders conducted Friday services in Schlosberg’s Tailoring Shop, and weekly collections from the community allowed them to bring in a Rabbi or Cantor for High Holiday services, which were held in the Masonic Hall. Over the course of the following decades, two or three full-time Rabbis served B’nai Israel, and Jews from all over southeastern Arkansas traveled to attend traditional services. A number of trends—including the imposition of national immigration quotas, the acculturation of U.S.-born children, and local economic factors—led to a decline in B’nai Israel’s membership, however, and the congregation ceased to operate in the early 1930s. What was left of the congregation ultimately merged with Anshe Emeth. Former B’nai Israel members incorporated more traditional components of their practice into Reform services, some of which were officially integrated into Anshe Emeth’s practice later on in the 1950s. As historian Lee Shai Weissbach notes, B’nai Israel’s relatively short period of viability parallels the rise and fall of small-town orthodoxy across the United States.
Business and Civic Life
From the late 19th century through the end of the 20th century, Pine Bluff’s Jews held prominent business positions and served as active participants in local civic life. Although many local Jews rose to prominence, their journeys almost always started from humble beginnings. Early Jewish settlers like Adolph Altschul, S. Meyer, A. First, and C. Baker first came to Pine Bluff as peddlers and stayed to open retail businesses in the growing river town. By 1860, at least a dozen Jewish owned businesses lined Pine Bluff’s streets.
While Pine Bluff itself was not a site of significant fighting during the Civil War, the conflict destabilized local business life for its duration. The local economy rebounded quickly in the immediate aftermath of the war, however, thanks to improved transportation, fertile farmland, and the availability of nearby timber. As a result, the town’s population grew dramatically from 1,396 in 1860 to 11,496 by 1900. During this period, sometimes referred to as Pine Bluff’s “golden era,” cotton production and river commerce thrived. The city, the third largest in Arkansas at the time, drew new industries and developed new public institutions. For example, the Cotton Belt Railroad Company established its lines and main engine maintenance shops in Pine Bluff in 1894 and remained Jefferson county’s largest employer until 1942.
While Pine Bluff itself was not a site of significant fighting during the Civil War, the conflict destabilized local business life for its duration. The local economy rebounded quickly in the immediate aftermath of the war, however, thanks to improved transportation, fertile farmland, and the availability of nearby timber. As a result, the town’s population grew dramatically from 1,396 in 1860 to 11,496 by 1900. During this period, sometimes referred to as Pine Bluff’s “golden era,” cotton production and river commerce thrived. The city, the third largest in Arkansas at the time, drew new industries and developed new public institutions. For example, the Cotton Belt Railroad Company established its lines and main engine maintenance shops in Pine Bluff in 1894 and remained Jefferson county’s largest employer until 1942.
Charles and Amelia Weil with their eight surviving children, c. 1898. Carolyn LeMaster Arkansas Jewish History Collection, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System.
Jewish merchants played a central role in rebuilding Pine Bluff during these post-war years, and the 1881 city directory lists more than 30 Jewish firms. Sam Bluethenthal, the owner of one such business, resettled in Pine Bluff after the Civil War and opened the S. Bluthenthal and Company Mercantile Store, which grew into a sizable operation that also dealt in cotton. As Jewish community members became business leaders, they began to enter into positions of civic and political leadership as well. Charles Weil, a prominent merchant, planter, and banker, served on the City Council for 20 years. During his tenure, he sometimes filled the role of acting mayor. Gabriel Meyer, who owned some of the largest cotton plantations in the state, served on the city council and the school board for 25 years. He was known as the “father of the Pine Bluff school system” because he both donated money to the schools when they could not afford to hire teachers and handled the school system’s land deals until 1917.
Over the course of Pine Bluff’s history, two Jews—L.E. Goldsmith and Simon Bloom—held the office of mayor. Goldsmith’s tenure lasted from 1895 to 1897 during which he worked to restore the fiscal health of the city. Bloom held office for three terms (1913-1919) in spite of antisemitic attacks from his opponent. He received praise for improving Pine Bluff’s infrastructure and, by the time he stepped down from his position, was even considered a potential gubernatorial candidate.
Financial success and civic recognition, however, did not always characterize Pine Bluff’s Jewish stories. The fortunes of Jewish-owned businesses largely hinged on the health of the local agricultural economy. The Rosenberg family, for example, arrived in Pine Bluff before 1870 but experienced a business failure by mid-decade. Members of the family partnered with Charles and Isaac Miller to establish a firm called Rosenberg, Miller, and Company that eventually became a furnishing store. They struggled to stay afloat, though, and credit reports pejoratively commented on their clientele, which supposedly included mostly Black customers and “transient persons.” In 1874 the Rosenbergs had to declare bankruptcy. That year Sol Rosenberg wrote a letter instructing his reader to “speak often of our names so we are never forgotten in this world.” While local Jewish histories often highlight the stories of more successful families, the Rosenbergs’ story demonstrates the struggles faced by any number of less prominent business owners.
Over the course of Pine Bluff’s history, two Jews—L.E. Goldsmith and Simon Bloom—held the office of mayor. Goldsmith’s tenure lasted from 1895 to 1897 during which he worked to restore the fiscal health of the city. Bloom held office for three terms (1913-1919) in spite of antisemitic attacks from his opponent. He received praise for improving Pine Bluff’s infrastructure and, by the time he stepped down from his position, was even considered a potential gubernatorial candidate.
Financial success and civic recognition, however, did not always characterize Pine Bluff’s Jewish stories. The fortunes of Jewish-owned businesses largely hinged on the health of the local agricultural economy. The Rosenberg family, for example, arrived in Pine Bluff before 1870 but experienced a business failure by mid-decade. Members of the family partnered with Charles and Isaac Miller to establish a firm called Rosenberg, Miller, and Company that eventually became a furnishing store. They struggled to stay afloat, though, and credit reports pejoratively commented on their clientele, which supposedly included mostly Black customers and “transient persons.” In 1874 the Rosenbergs had to declare bankruptcy. That year Sol Rosenberg wrote a letter instructing his reader to “speak often of our names so we are never forgotten in this world.” While local Jewish histories often highlight the stories of more successful families, the Rosenbergs’ story demonstrates the struggles faced by any number of less prominent business owners.
Southern towns that depended on the cotton trade experienced a series of economic fluctuations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Pine Bluff was no exception. The vagaries of cotton crops and cotton prices caused some of this turbulence, but natural and social phenomena contributed as well. The Flood of 1927 destroyed thousands of acres of cotton and hundreds of farms and businesses. Just a few years later, drought and the Great Depression plagued Pine Bluff. Subsequent federal relief programs supported Pine Bluff, in part through construction projects such as the city’s National Guard Armory. The economy stabilized somewhat by the early 1940s due to significant federal military investment. World War II brought a munitions arsenal to the city that employed some 10,000 local workers. The arsenal became permanent in the 1950s, and housed chemical agents throughout the Cold War. The presence of so many government jobs helped Pine Bluff to maintain its position as one of the largest cities and economic hubs in the state.
Throughout the early and mid-20th century, Pine Bluff Jews remained leaders in both political and economic spheres. For instance, Susan Menzoff became a well-known civic activist in Pine Bluff involved in local education expansion efforts, Junior League, and the Arkansas Arts and Science Center. The Jewish community’s reach, however, was not merely local. Jane Ellenbogen Stern spearheaded environmentalist efforts in Southeastern Arkansas, creating the Jefferson County Audubon Society and protecting the Buffalo River and surrounding Bayous from development. She also discovered a new plant species, Mespilus canescens, which is commonly known as Stern’s Medlar in her honor. The Arkansas Wildlife Federation recognized her work in the field, naming her “Water Conservationist of the Year” in 1971 and “Conservationist of the Year” in 1978. Another award-winning Pine Bluff Jew who was distinguished in their field was Paul Greenberg. Greenberg came to Pine Bluff in 1962 to work as an editorial writer for the Pine Bluff Commercial. He began winning prizes for his editorial work in 1969 when he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. He received Pulitzer recognition again in 1978 and served as a Pulitzer Prize juror from 1984 to 1985. Starting in the 1980s, Greenberg’s column appeared in newspapers nationwide.
Throughout the early and mid-20th century, Pine Bluff Jews remained leaders in both political and economic spheres. For instance, Susan Menzoff became a well-known civic activist in Pine Bluff involved in local education expansion efforts, Junior League, and the Arkansas Arts and Science Center. The Jewish community’s reach, however, was not merely local. Jane Ellenbogen Stern spearheaded environmentalist efforts in Southeastern Arkansas, creating the Jefferson County Audubon Society and protecting the Buffalo River and surrounding Bayous from development. She also discovered a new plant species, Mespilus canescens, which is commonly known as Stern’s Medlar in her honor. The Arkansas Wildlife Federation recognized her work in the field, naming her “Water Conservationist of the Year” in 1971 and “Conservationist of the Year” in 1978. Another award-winning Pine Bluff Jew who was distinguished in their field was Paul Greenberg. Greenberg came to Pine Bluff in 1962 to work as an editorial writer for the Pine Bluff Commercial. He began winning prizes for his editorial work in 1969 when he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. He received Pulitzer recognition again in 1978 and served as a Pulitzer Prize juror from 1984 to 1985. Starting in the 1980s, Greenberg’s column appeared in newspapers nationwide.
Jews and Race in Pine Bluff
Sam Franklin, one of several Jewish confederates from Pine Bluff.
The city of Pine Bluff saw little fighting during the Civil War, but white locals contributed to the Confederate cause. Collectively the city sent two companies of voluntary militia to fight: the Jefferson Guard and the Southern Guard. Some of these voluntary militiamen included Pine Bluff Jews like A.F. Dreyfus, Sam Franklin, and David Achaffenberg. Beyond military service, local Jews supported the war effort in their economic endeavors. For instance, Max and Charles Weil supplied baked goods to the Confederate army, and later to the Union after the fall of Little Rock. Although Pine Bluff’s Jews showed support to the Confederate cause, they also, in some cases, demonstrated a degree of ambivalence to it. Union soldier August Bondi reported that he felt isolated in his Judaism during the war, and this isolation was relieved by a Rosh Hashanah meal he shared with Pine Bluff’s “Mr. Kahn.” Kahn’s gesture demonstrates a willingness from Pine Bluff Jews to reach across the sectional divide in spite of ideological differences.
While Pine Bluff Jews may have varied in their enthusiasm for secession and the war, local Jewish histories eventually told a less nuanced story. On their 100th anniversary celebration in 1967, Anshe Emeth released a congregational history that detailed Jews’ role in the Confederacy. The document emphasizes Jewish “loyalty” to the Confederate flag, noting that “none surpassed the Jewish soldiers in courage, whenever the responsibility was placed on them.” In other words, during the time of the classical Civil Rights Movements, Pine Bluff Jews’ asserted their place in Lost Cause mythology, reaffirming their commitment to southern, white society.
While Pine Bluff Jews may have varied in their enthusiasm for secession and the war, local Jewish histories eventually told a less nuanced story. On their 100th anniversary celebration in 1967, Anshe Emeth released a congregational history that detailed Jews’ role in the Confederacy. The document emphasizes Jewish “loyalty” to the Confederate flag, noting that “none surpassed the Jewish soldiers in courage, whenever the responsibility was placed on them.” In other words, during the time of the classical Civil Rights Movements, Pine Bluff Jews’ asserted their place in Lost Cause mythology, reaffirming their commitment to southern, white society.
The authors of the 1967 congregational history would have been loath to acknowledge that Black-Jewish interactions in Pine Bluff also included a long-term romantic partnership between a European Jewish man and a Black woman. Jewish Civil Rights activist and academic Julius Lester details his maternal great-grandparents interracial relationship in late 19th-century Pine Bluff in his book Lovesong: Becoming a Jew. Lester’s Jewish great-grandfather, Adolph Altschul, immigrated to the United States around 1860 and began peddling in the Pine Bluff area shortly after the Civil War. Lester’s relatives speculate that Adolph met his formerly enslaved wife, Maggie Carson, while he peddled the countryside. When the two married, Adolph’s brothers disowned him, although Adolph was eventually buried in the local Jewish cemetery. On the topic of Adolph and Maggie’s marriage, Lester’s father said the following: “I always respected Adolph for that. Back in them times he didn’t have to marry her if he didn’t want to, but he did the Christian thing, even if he was a Jew.” Lester’s father rightfully denounces the Altschul family’s actions, but simultaneously associates Adolph’s morality with “Christianity” and wryly insinuates that Adolph’s morality was atypical for a Jew. Lester’s father’s commentary encapsulates an underlying tension between the Black and Jewish communities, one that was passed down from generation to generation. Throughout Lester’s childhood, he spent summers in Pine Bluff; although he regularly walked by the Altschul’s local shop, his father warned: “don’t you go marching in the store and call them cousin. They’d pretend they didn’t know what you were talking about.” Lester did not get in touch with the Altschul family until adulthood.
In spite of the underlying current of racism in the Jewish community, a few Jewish individuals challenged the existing norms both explicitly and implicitly. In the early 20th century, Anshe Emeth hired a number of Rabbis heavily involved in social justice work. Rabbi Ephraim Frisch (1904-1912) advocated for “bringing Black and white people together” throughout his tenure. He also became close friends with Isaac Fisher, a local Black educator and protégé of Booker T. Washington. Rabbi Frisch publicly defended Fisher from political attacks, an act that was so unpopular that both men left the city in the early 1910s. Frisch continued to be active in social justice movements for the rest of his life. Another Pine Bluff rabbi involved in civil rights activism was Rabbi Leonard Rothstein. Rothstein (1919-1923) publicly denounced the Pine Bluff School Board’s decision to permit Dr. John Moore, a national Ku Klux Klan lecturer, to speak at the local high school. He left Pine Bluff in 1923 disillusioned by the ““narrowness and blindness of the community at large.” The 100th anniversary congregational history made no mention of these rabbis’ involvement in civil rights activism.
Beyond religious leaders, some Jewish community leaders also stood up against racial injustices. Perhaps the most notable of these community leaders was Sam Levine, a Pine Bluff attorney and education activist who served in the Arkansas General Assembly both as a congressman and a senator. In 1959—two years after the Little Rock Nine moved to integrate Central High School—Levine single-handedly filibustered legislation from Governor Orval E. Faubus and other white supremacists that would pack the school board with staunch segregationists. He strategically launched his filibuster on the last day of the legislative session right before a major highway bill so that the school board bill would be shelved. Ultimately, this move killed Levine’s political career; he tried to run for chancery board in 1962, but lost in the primaries to an opponent who ran an antisemitic campaign.
Beyond religious leaders, some Jewish community leaders also stood up against racial injustices. Perhaps the most notable of these community leaders was Sam Levine, a Pine Bluff attorney and education activist who served in the Arkansas General Assembly both as a congressman and a senator. In 1959—two years after the Little Rock Nine moved to integrate Central High School—Levine single-handedly filibustered legislation from Governor Orval E. Faubus and other white supremacists that would pack the school board with staunch segregationists. He strategically launched his filibuster on the last day of the legislative session right before a major highway bill so that the school board bill would be shelved. Ultimately, this move killed Levine’s political career; he tried to run for chancery board in 1962, but lost in the primaries to an opponent who ran an antisemitic campaign.
Change and Decline
In the 1930s some 375 Jews called Pine Bluff home. By the late 1980s, that number had dropped to 175. Jewish population decline reflected economic challenges in Pine Bluff and the surrounding areas. Younger Jewish adults often left Pine Bluff for educational and professional opportunities in larger cities, and the rise of discount retail chains decreased the viability of local Jewish businesses. Many Jewish owned stores began to close by the mid-1980s as older generations retired and younger generations moved elsewhere. On the 100th anniversary of the Marx family’s men’s clothing store in 1995, Bo Marx stated “I worked in the store because it was expected of me, but it was not what I wanted to do initially.” On the topic of his son inheriting the business, he said “I don’t expect him to come into the business… It's a good line of work, but I don’t want to stay here for the rest of my life.”
Members of the Pine Bluff Jewish community remained committed to its survival even in the face of a shrinking population. In the 1940s Harry and Ruth Hanf and his wife placed an advertisement for Pine Bluff in the New York Times in an attempt to get people to move down south. Sam and Jean Larkin, owners of Larkin Lectro Products, responded, moving their Larkin Lectro Products, Inc. plant to Pine Bluff in 1949. Several Jewish families came with the company, but when the Larkins moved back to New York, so did most of their Jewish employees.
As the Jewish population fell, so did congregational membership. Immediately after World War II, Anshe Emeth’s membership was strong, but by the 1960s membership had fallen to 230 individuals, and that number dropped steadily over the next few decades. When the congregation built a new, modern building in 1967, they moved from the second largest synagogue in the state to one of the smallest. Anshe Emeth’s last full time rabbi was Leslie Sirtes, who served the congregation from 1970 until the mid-1980s. From then on a rotating cast of Hebrew Union College rabbinical students lead services in Pine Bluff. By 1992 the congregation’s membership had dwindled to 40 individuals, and the congregation began planning for its inevitable closure seven years later.
Anshe Emeth hosted its final service on June 11, 2016. Congregants donated a Torah scroll to a synagogue in Guatemala, moved their yahrzeit plaques to Hot Springs, and created a trust to maintain Pine Bluff’s Jewish cemetery. Although Pine Bluff’s Jewish population continues to decline, material traces of Pine Bluff’s Jewish history remain visible. As of 2023, signs from Jewish merchants still hang from a few downtown buildings, and Anshe Emeth’s second synagogue building still boasts its stained glass windows decorated with menorahs.
Members of the Pine Bluff Jewish community remained committed to its survival even in the face of a shrinking population. In the 1940s Harry and Ruth Hanf and his wife placed an advertisement for Pine Bluff in the New York Times in an attempt to get people to move down south. Sam and Jean Larkin, owners of Larkin Lectro Products, responded, moving their Larkin Lectro Products, Inc. plant to Pine Bluff in 1949. Several Jewish families came with the company, but when the Larkins moved back to New York, so did most of their Jewish employees.
As the Jewish population fell, so did congregational membership. Immediately after World War II, Anshe Emeth’s membership was strong, but by the 1960s membership had fallen to 230 individuals, and that number dropped steadily over the next few decades. When the congregation built a new, modern building in 1967, they moved from the second largest synagogue in the state to one of the smallest. Anshe Emeth’s last full time rabbi was Leslie Sirtes, who served the congregation from 1970 until the mid-1980s. From then on a rotating cast of Hebrew Union College rabbinical students lead services in Pine Bluff. By 1992 the congregation’s membership had dwindled to 40 individuals, and the congregation began planning for its inevitable closure seven years later.
Anshe Emeth hosted its final service on June 11, 2016. Congregants donated a Torah scroll to a synagogue in Guatemala, moved their yahrzeit plaques to Hot Springs, and created a trust to maintain Pine Bluff’s Jewish cemetery. Although Pine Bluff’s Jewish population continues to decline, material traces of Pine Bluff’s Jewish history remain visible. As of 2023, signs from Jewish merchants still hang from a few downtown buildings, and Anshe Emeth’s second synagogue building still boasts its stained glass windows decorated with menorahs.
Updated February 2024.