Cemetery
B'nai Israel Cemetery
B' nai Israel (Beni Israel) Cemetery
The Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation owns and maintains the B’nai Israel Cemetery in
Eudora, KS. LJCC members in good standing have burial rights in the Cemetery. Contact the LJCC
office (785.841.7636, LawrenceJCC@gmail.com) for information about purchasing a burial plot or to arrange a burial.
The cemetery contains graves of Jews dating back to the settlement of the Kansas Territories in
the 1850s. The cemetery is listed as “Beni Israel Cemetery” on the National Register of Historic
Places.
The Beni Israel Cemetery was founded in 1858 by territorial settlers who relocated to the area
via the German Immigrant Settlement Company of Chicago. The Cemetery represents the
social history of the Jewish-Americans who made distinctive contributions to the early
development of both Eudora and Lawrence, Kansas.
The Settlement Company had approximately 600 members who paid weekly dues to purchase
land for farms and a new town. In 1857, the Company purchased 800 acres of Shawnee Indian
land from Paschal Fish and laid out a townsite, Eudora, named after Fish’s daughter. The
Company then resold lots and acreage to its members. Of the 29 heads of families who first
arrived in Eudora, 7 were known to be Jewish.
Among the Jewish settlers, Abraham Summerfield was elected to the first Eudora City Council
and also served as its second Postmaster. Adolphus Erb and Asher Cohen also served on the
City Council and Marcus Summerfield was City Clerk. Frederick Deichmann, whose wife and
children were Jewish, also served on the City Council.
This Cemetery is the major surviving property associated with the Jewish community which
flourished in Eudora from 1857-1867 before relocating to Lawrence. Together with the
Leavenworth Jewish cemetery, these two properties are the only Jewish cemeteries established
in Kansas during the territorial period. The name “Beni Israel” is thought to have either been a
misspelling or a colloquialism of the times. The Cemetery, which is used for current burials, is
now known as B’nai Israel, although the historic section retains the “Beni Israel” designation.
Lorraine Lindenbaum z”l, former cemetery committee member, discussed the Historic
Designation saying, “It protects the property from encroachment as the surrounding land is
developed...The designation also signifies to our LJCC membership what a gem we have
locally.”
Directions to the Cemetery
From Lawrence:
· Head east on K-10 for about 10 miles; look for the big cross at the Methodist church
· Take the Church St./E. 2200 Road exit
· Turn right onto Church St./E. 2200 Road
· Take the first right onto N 1300 Rd./E. 20th St., it will curve sharply north and then turn west
· In one mile, turn right onto E 2100 Rd./Winchester Rd.
· The cemetery will be on the lft, at the NW corner of the intersection of Winchester Rd. and W. 20th St.
Pictures of B'nai Israel Cemetery
Pedestrian Entrance to Beni Israel
Hebrew Lettering on Gravestone
View of west and north fence lines where we propose perimeter trees.
Dr. David Katzman’s Cemetery Tour, 2023
Headstone of Cemetery Founder and One of First Eudora Councilmen, Asher Cohn
Looking West to adjacent fields & United Methodist Church in far view
Genizah (traditional burial of worn out Hebrew language religious texts) placed by Lawrence Jewish Congregation, Inc.
Sat, December 21 2024
20 Kislev 5785
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Thursday ,
DecDecember 26 , 2024LINK
Thursday, Dec 26th 11:30a to 2:00p
The purpose of LINK is to share home-cooked, nutritious meals with kindness in a safe and welcoming environment with families, those who are unhoused or hungry, physically or mentally disabled, or simply desirous of company. Please consider supporting this crucial program. -
Friday ,
DecDecember 27 , 2024
Friday, Dec 27th 7:00p to 8:30p
Friday Night Services with Azariah Betzalel (Zoom) -
Wednesday ,
JanJanuary 1 , 2025
Wednesday, Jan 1st 5:00p to 7:30p
Join us for latkes, games, arts & crafts, the lighting of community menorot, and fun for the whole family. -
Saturday ,
JanJanuary 11 , 2025
Shabbat, Jan 11th 10:30a to 1:00p
Join us for Saturday morning services and a potluck kiddish lunch. -
Friday ,
JanJanuary 17 , 2025
Friday, Jan 17th 7:00p to 9:00p
Barry Shalinsky & Robin Rosenberg lead with an oneg compliments of Shelley Skie -
Friday ,
JanJanuary 24 , 2025
Friday, Jan 24th 5:30p to 7:00p
Our monthly family-friendly service (folks of all ages are welcome!). It's potluck-style with kugel as the main dish this month. We'll nosh with a short shabbat service to follow. -
Thursday ,
JanJanuary 30 , 2025Healthy aging, lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition (Hybrid)
Thursday, Jan 30th 7:00p to 8:30p
The novelist and poet Wendell Berry once commented that “people are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.” The new field of lifestyle medicine is changing that, getting back to the basics that are so important in maintaining health and well-being. Dr. Friedman, a board-certified geriatrician and lifestyle medicine physician, will discuss the pillars of lifestyle medicine – especially whole-food plant-based nutrition – and how they promote healthy aging. -
Friday ,
JanJanuary 31 , 2025
Friday, Jan 31st 7:00p to 9:00p
Judy Roitman & Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg lead with a potluck oneg to follow. Let us know in the notes section what you can bring. -
Saturday ,
FebFebruary 22 , 20253rd Annual Telling Our Stories Through Food with author-illustrator Marilyn Naron (Hybrid)
Motzei Shabbat, Feb 22nd 7:00p to 9:00p
I Do Not Want Your Sympathy: Shiva, Snacks, and the Art of Remembering - What is comfort? What do mourners need, and is memory really a blessing? Join us for an evening of art and discussion with local author-illustrator (and former pastry chef) Marilyn Naron. The LJCC will exhibit Marilyn’s recent art commissioned for the Kansas Book Festival, including the central piece “I Do Not Want Your Sympathy,” a triptych painted and collaged entirely from sympathy cards her family received after the death of her sister in 1996. Marilyn is currently at work on an illustrated memoir, “How to Draw a Sister,” and her talk will explore how food, sympathy, memory, and Jewish death rituals come together in that project.
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