Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Kingstree, South Carolina
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Kingstree: Historical Overview
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Kingstree, South Carolina, was founded in the 1730s. Originally named Williamsburg Township in honor of William of Orange, the Protestant King of England, the town was renamed Kingstree in the late 19th century in reference to an old story about the first settlers finding an unusually large white pine in the area. Thinking that it would be perfect as a mast for the Royal Ship, the tree was branded with the King’s seal so that all would know that it was the King’s tree, although the tree was never cut. Indigo farming and processing quickly brought prosperity to the county in the early 18th century. Later, the railroad proved to be the lifeline of the area from the late 19th century through the Great Depression.
The first Jewish resident of Kingstree arrived around 1850, and Kingstree became home to a small Jewish community through most of the 20th century. |
Stories of the Jewish Community in Kingstree
Early Settlers
The first known Jewish citizen of Kingstree was the lawyer M.I. Hirsch, who settled in Kingstree around 1850. He later served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, and in the Reconstruction government as district solicitor. After Reconstruction, Hirsch served on the school commission, and was then elected mayor, despite the fact that he belonged to the unpopular Republican Party.
Another early Jewish settler and beloved citizen of Kingstree was Louis Jacobs. Jacobs emigrated from Prussia in 1859, ending up in Charleston, South Carolina. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in the Confederate cause as a private, participating in many of the major battles, including the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Sharpsburg, and the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, Jacobs moved to Kingstree, where he soon opened his own business. He first became involved in government when he was elected probate judge of Williamsburg County in 1870. After one six-year term, he was elected sheriff. Jacobs left Kingstree in 1888 to serve as Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue of the Charleston Division for a year, and then as Chief Inspector of Customs for the Port of Charleston for another year. Jacobs then accepted a well-paying job as a bookkeeper. He returned to Kingstree in 1895, and worked as a merchant. Jacobs was pressured into applying for the position of Postmaster at Kingstree in 1898 by local whites when they heard that an African American man was to be appointed to the position. Although Jacobs was a Republican, local Democrats supported his appointment since a black postmaster would have undermined white supremacy. A loyal white Southerner, Jacobs willingly stepped in, serving in the position for 16 years. When he died in 1922, his obituary in the local newspaper called him “a man of sterling character, splendid intellect, and possessed of a most magnanimous disposition.”
The first known Jewish citizen of Kingstree was the lawyer M.I. Hirsch, who settled in Kingstree around 1850. He later served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, and in the Reconstruction government as district solicitor. After Reconstruction, Hirsch served on the school commission, and was then elected mayor, despite the fact that he belonged to the unpopular Republican Party.
Another early Jewish settler and beloved citizen of Kingstree was Louis Jacobs. Jacobs emigrated from Prussia in 1859, ending up in Charleston, South Carolina. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in the Confederate cause as a private, participating in many of the major battles, including the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Sharpsburg, and the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, Jacobs moved to Kingstree, where he soon opened his own business. He first became involved in government when he was elected probate judge of Williamsburg County in 1870. After one six-year term, he was elected sheriff. Jacobs left Kingstree in 1888 to serve as Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue of the Charleston Division for a year, and then as Chief Inspector of Customs for the Port of Charleston for another year. Jacobs then accepted a well-paying job as a bookkeeper. He returned to Kingstree in 1895, and worked as a merchant. Jacobs was pressured into applying for the position of Postmaster at Kingstree in 1898 by local whites when they heard that an African American man was to be appointed to the position. Although Jacobs was a Republican, local Democrats supported his appointment since a black postmaster would have undermined white supremacy. A loyal white Southerner, Jacobs willingly stepped in, serving in the position for 16 years. When he died in 1922, his obituary in the local newspaper called him “a man of sterling character, splendid intellect, and possessed of a most magnanimous disposition.”
A Community Forms
After the turn of the 20th century, Jewish families started moving into Kingstree and other nearby towns in increasing numbers. David Silverman became one of the first new Jewish businessmen in the area when he opened up Silverman’s, a dry goods store, in 1904. The Goldstein family took over Silverman’s in 1936. The Drucker family moved to Kingstree in 1914, and brought along the Marcus family. Sam Friedman established Friedman’s, a department store, in the mid-1920s, and the Drucker family opened up their drugstore on Main Street in Kingstree in 1938. Even Orthodox families like the Friedmans kept their stores open on Saturdays, the busiest day of the week, as they could not afford to lose business, especially during the Great Depression. To supplement their income from the family grocery store, Rose Webster’s father, Theodore Jacobs, managed a farm and sharecropping operation.
The Jewish community was not large enough to form a congregation until 1945, so most families had private services in their homes, or traveled to join other congregations. Although the Jewish community in Georgetown did not have a building until 1949, they had established a congregation early in the 20th century, and regularly hosted Jewish families from Kingstree and Andrews. Some families also attended services at Temple Sinai, the Reform temple in Sumter. The Friedman family, however, traveled to Charleston every two weeks and almost every holiday for services at an Orthodox synagogue. Meri Friedman Gergel, the oldest of four sisters, and Rae Friedman Berry, the youngest, remember visiting their Aunt Jenny on a regular basis, and sitting in the balcony with their mother, while their father joined the other men downstairs.
Some of the local women attempted to organize an informal Sunday school, but most children learned about their religion from older family members. Gergel listened to her devout grandfather say his prayers. Although Harold Aronson claimed that there was no kosher meat in Kingstree, Mrs. Friedman kept a strictly kosher household. She bought all of her meat in Charleston, and had two sets of dishes. However, her high standards were not high enough for her father-in-law, who came to visit from Charleston. He would bring his own pots and pans, and prepare his own kosher meals. The Friedman family regularly invited Jewish peddlers and traveling salesmen into their home for Shabbat dinner.
Before they formed a congregation, the Jewish families in Kingstree sometimes felt isolated. “It was sort of an aloneness there because people would go to church on Sunday. We didn’t have any place to go,” remembers Meri Friedman Gergel, who grew up in Kingstree in the 1920s and 1930s. “Sunday was always a difficult day.” Gergel also felt lonely in school, especially in elementary school. She was the only Jewish girl in her class, and her second grade teacher always had the students sing Christian songs at the beginning of every class. “The teacher would make me sit while everybody sang Christian songs,” remembered Gergel, “And she said you can’t join us because you’re not Christian.”
After the turn of the 20th century, Jewish families started moving into Kingstree and other nearby towns in increasing numbers. David Silverman became one of the first new Jewish businessmen in the area when he opened up Silverman’s, a dry goods store, in 1904. The Goldstein family took over Silverman’s in 1936. The Drucker family moved to Kingstree in 1914, and brought along the Marcus family. Sam Friedman established Friedman’s, a department store, in the mid-1920s, and the Drucker family opened up their drugstore on Main Street in Kingstree in 1938. Even Orthodox families like the Friedmans kept their stores open on Saturdays, the busiest day of the week, as they could not afford to lose business, especially during the Great Depression. To supplement their income from the family grocery store, Rose Webster’s father, Theodore Jacobs, managed a farm and sharecropping operation.
The Jewish community was not large enough to form a congregation until 1945, so most families had private services in their homes, or traveled to join other congregations. Although the Jewish community in Georgetown did not have a building until 1949, they had established a congregation early in the 20th century, and regularly hosted Jewish families from Kingstree and Andrews. Some families also attended services at Temple Sinai, the Reform temple in Sumter. The Friedman family, however, traveled to Charleston every two weeks and almost every holiday for services at an Orthodox synagogue. Meri Friedman Gergel, the oldest of four sisters, and Rae Friedman Berry, the youngest, remember visiting their Aunt Jenny on a regular basis, and sitting in the balcony with their mother, while their father joined the other men downstairs.
Some of the local women attempted to organize an informal Sunday school, but most children learned about their religion from older family members. Gergel listened to her devout grandfather say his prayers. Although Harold Aronson claimed that there was no kosher meat in Kingstree, Mrs. Friedman kept a strictly kosher household. She bought all of her meat in Charleston, and had two sets of dishes. However, her high standards were not high enough for her father-in-law, who came to visit from Charleston. He would bring his own pots and pans, and prepare his own kosher meals. The Friedman family regularly invited Jewish peddlers and traveling salesmen into their home for Shabbat dinner.
Before they formed a congregation, the Jewish families in Kingstree sometimes felt isolated. “It was sort of an aloneness there because people would go to church on Sunday. We didn’t have any place to go,” remembers Meri Friedman Gergel, who grew up in Kingstree in the 1920s and 1930s. “Sunday was always a difficult day.” Gergel also felt lonely in school, especially in elementary school. She was the only Jewish girl in her class, and her second grade teacher always had the students sing Christian songs at the beginning of every class. “The teacher would make me sit while everybody sang Christian songs,” remembered Gergel, “And she said you can’t join us because you’re not Christian.”
A Congregation Forms
In the early 1940s, as many as ten new Jewish families moved into the Kingstree area. In 1945, the Jewish communities of Kingstree, Andrews, Greeleyville, and Lake City merged to form a Conservative congregation. They built Temple Beth-Or in 1948. Rabbis from Synagogue Emanu-El in Charleston, including Rabbi Gerald Wolpe and Rabbi Hillel Millgram, visited Kingstree once a month starting in 1949. All other services were led by laymen, except when the congregation hosted a student rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The congregation peaked in the late 1950s with 38 families and 24 children in the religious school. In 1959, Beth Or joined the United Synagogue of America, the national organization of Conservative Judaism.
In the early 1940s, as many as ten new Jewish families moved into the Kingstree area. In 1945, the Jewish communities of Kingstree, Andrews, Greeleyville, and Lake City merged to form a Conservative congregation. They built Temple Beth-Or in 1948. Rabbis from Synagogue Emanu-El in Charleston, including Rabbi Gerald Wolpe and Rabbi Hillel Millgram, visited Kingstree once a month starting in 1949. All other services were led by laymen, except when the congregation hosted a student rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The congregation peaked in the late 1950s with 38 families and 24 children in the religious school. In 1959, Beth Or joined the United Synagogue of America, the national organization of Conservative Judaism.
Interfaith Activities in Kingstree
Harold Aronson’s father ran a general store in Kingstree in the late 1930s, and Harold and his wife, Rose, remember a certain female employee who was very proud of how broadminded she was. She told the Aronsons, “I don’t care what a person’s religion is, as long as they believe in Jesus.” After the founding of the Kingstree congregation and the building of Temple Beth Or, the Jewish community became more visible, and began to educate their primarily Christian neighbors about their religion and culture. Numerous Christian groups in the area asked the leaders of the Jewish community to give lectures and participate in interfaith programs. Christian Sunday school teachers began to bring their classes to Jewish services. In 1981, the Kingstree News ran a feature story on the temple and the community, and, in 1994, Jerome Moskow organized a museum at the Andrews Historical Society with exhibits from all of the religious institutions in the area. The Beth Or exhibit, that Moskow put together himself, generated more interest than any of the other exhibits, and inspired residents of Andrews to visit and explore the synagogue.
Harold Aronson’s father ran a general store in Kingstree in the late 1930s, and Harold and his wife, Rose, remember a certain female employee who was very proud of how broadminded she was. She told the Aronsons, “I don’t care what a person’s religion is, as long as they believe in Jesus.” After the founding of the Kingstree congregation and the building of Temple Beth Or, the Jewish community became more visible, and began to educate their primarily Christian neighbors about their religion and culture. Numerous Christian groups in the area asked the leaders of the Jewish community to give lectures and participate in interfaith programs. Christian Sunday school teachers began to bring their classes to Jewish services. In 1981, the Kingstree News ran a feature story on the temple and the community, and, in 1994, Jerome Moskow organized a museum at the Andrews Historical Society with exhibits from all of the religious institutions in the area. The Beth Or exhibit, that Moskow put together himself, generated more interest than any of the other exhibits, and inspired residents of Andrews to visit and explore the synagogue.
The Community Declines
Like many small congregations in the South, Beth Or saw its numbers begin to decline as the next generation of children left Kingstree, while some intermarried and left the faith. Rose Jacobs Webster, the granddaughter of Louis Jacobs, was never able to develop a strong attachment to Judaism, later marrying a Baptist man and joining the church. Harold Aronson returned from fighting in World War II, and quickly moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he ran a very successful business producing and installing aluminum awnings. Most parents sent their children, including their daughters, to college. Several young Jewish women attended Winthrop College, the South Carolina College for Women. Most of these young people never returned to Kingstree. Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, whose family took over and ran Silverman’s department store in Kingstree, joined the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, and later won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine.
Although the congregation always had an active Sisterhood, it did not have any female officers until 1995 when Jerome Moskow’s wife, Mary, was elected vice president. She became the first female president of the congregation in 1997. The synagogue began counting women in the minyan in the early 1990s because they did not have enough men.
Like many small congregations in the South, Beth Or saw its numbers begin to decline as the next generation of children left Kingstree, while some intermarried and left the faith. Rose Jacobs Webster, the granddaughter of Louis Jacobs, was never able to develop a strong attachment to Judaism, later marrying a Baptist man and joining the church. Harold Aronson returned from fighting in World War II, and quickly moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he ran a very successful business producing and installing aluminum awnings. Most parents sent their children, including their daughters, to college. Several young Jewish women attended Winthrop College, the South Carolina College for Women. Most of these young people never returned to Kingstree. Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, whose family took over and ran Silverman’s department store in Kingstree, joined the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, and later won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine.
Although the congregation always had an active Sisterhood, it did not have any female officers until 1995 when Jerome Moskow’s wife, Mary, was elected vice president. She became the first female president of the congregation in 1997. The synagogue began counting women in the minyan in the early 1990s because they did not have enough men.
The Jewish Community in Kingstree Today
The decline of the local Jewish population eventually took its toll on Temple Beth Or. In 2004, the congregation finally stopped holding services. The remaining members sold the synagogue building to the local Catholic Diocese the following year. The day before the official closing, the temple held its last function: the funeral of Jerry Drucker, son of the founders of Drucker’s drugstore, a family that produced four generations of Jewish Kingstree residents.
Though there is no longer an organized Jewish community in Kingstree, Jews have left their mark on the town's legacy.
Though there is no longer an organized Jewish community in Kingstree, Jews have left their mark on the town's legacy.