Beth Israel Congregation

Front: Jews have lived in Florence since the city’s founding in the 1850s and were among its early civic leaders. Local Jews first formally organized in 1887 as the Florence Hebrew Benevolent Assoication. The group’s mission was to promote community and establish a Jewish cemetery, now 1 mi. SE of here. Members also opened a school for Jewish children before merging with Beth Israel Congregation in 1922. Reverse: Founded in 1912, Beth Israel Congregation originally followed the Orthodox tradition before joining the Reform movement in 1931. After meeting in several places around the city, this building, the group’s first permanent synagogue, was finished in 1949, with major additions in 1970. As other Pee Dee Jewish communities later dwindled in size, Beth Israel increasingly came to serve worshippers from around the region.