Jewish Collections at the Filson Historical Society
In 2017 the Filson Historical Society began a new initiative to document, preserve, and study the history of Jewish life and experience in Louisville and the Ohio Valley region. In addition to collecting the manuscripts, records, and photographs of local Jewish individuals, families, businesses, and organizations, the Filson also hosts programs and exhibitions that explore connections between Jewish and local history. This project began with a start-up grant from The Jewish Heritage Fund and has been sustained by the James Graham Brown Foundation, the William Wood Foundation, The Filson’s Board of Directors, and individual donors.
Jewish Newspaper Digital Collections
Screenshot of the Community newspaper webpage
Two of Louisville’s Jewish newspapers, the YMHA Chronicler and Community, are now fully searchable and browsable as a digital collection with the Jewish Historical Press project from the National Library of Israel and Tel Aviv University.
Click the titles below to access the collections:
YMHA Chronicler, 1 March 1913 – 5 April 1930
Community, 3 December 1971 – 25 December 2020
Collections Overview
Jewish Collections at the Filson include library materials such as books and pamphlets, searchable in our library catalog. Our historical subject files contain information on local synagogues. Special collections materials include personal and family papers and organizational records that range from single items to large boxed collections, scrapbooks, architectural drawings, photographs, and three dimensional artifacts. Photo and museum collections can be searched most effectively in-house at the Filson; feel free to call or email for assistance.
Manuscript, Library, Photograph, and Object Collections
Manuscript collections comprise materials unique to their makers: letters, diaries, organizational records, and more. To search manuscript collections by subject heading and keyword, please use our manuscript database. A full list of manuscript collection finding aids can be found here. You can also view the growing inventory of Jewish-related manuscript collections at the Filson Historical Society.
To search photographs and objects please visit our Past Perfect online database.
Digital Collections
Digital collections can be searched on the Digital Projects website and Past Perfect online database. Some recent projects include:
Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, 2001-2018
Summaries of 206 interviews with Jewish community members in Louisville, Kentucky, conducted by Jewish Family and Career Services volunteers. Originally started by Ann Friedman, Director of Klein Older Adult Services, the project sent volunteers to listen to seniors and summarize their stories. The volunteers used a standardized script to ask community members about their family’s immigration to the United States and move to Louisville; their family and religious life in Louisville; and what they hoped their legacy would be. Some of the interviews include supplemental material on the narrators, such as resumes, obituaries, and photographs.
Louisville Mendelssohn Lodge membership register, 1860-1921
An indexed membership register for the Louisville, Kentucky, B’nai B’rith Mendelssohn Lodge, a Jewish fraternal organization. The register documents members from 1860 to at least 1921. Recorded member information includes their name, place of residence, occupation, marital status, number of children, and date they were inducted.
Exhibits
Filson mounts several in-person exhibitions in our galleries. These exhibits live on in digital form. Additionally, the Filson curates digital exhibitions that illuminate resources and stories in our collections. Click the icons below to explore digital exhibits related to local Jewish History.
Programs
Weekly programs make the Filson a community of curiosity. Lectures and workshops focus on Ohio Valley history but also cover topics and questions of national and international interest. A full archive of program recordings since 2020 can be found on our YouTube channel. Click the icons below to view Jewish history programs.
Other Resources
The Archives and Special Collections at the University of Louisville Libraries also holds Jewish collections you can explore here as well as an extensive collection of oral histories conducted in Louisville’s Jewish Community, accessible here. The University of Kentucky also holds manuscript and oral history collections accessible here.
Louisville’s Jewish Funeral Home, Herman Meyer and Son, has extensive information on Louisville Jewish cemeteries (including gravesite indexes), available in the genealogy section of their website located here.
The Filson is proud to partner with the Association of Jewish Libraries as one of the founding institutions featured in the Donna and Richard Harris Directory of Jewish Libraries, Archives, and Collections Around the World.
Have questions about research or donating your Ohio Valley Jewish history? Please contact gro.l1745681087aciro1745681087tsihn1745681087oslif1745681087@hcra1745681087eser1745681087.
The Filson would like to thank the Jewish Heritage Fund for their generous support.
