Congregation Ahavath Sholom

On October 9, 1892, more than a dozen Jewish men met in William Goldstein's living room and wrote their minutes in Yiddish. Most were recent Russian immigrants, refugees of the pogrom era, and they modeled the congregation on the shuls they had left, with women behind a curtain and prayers chanted in Hebrew. That felt uncomfortable to longtime Fort Worth Jews, many American-born, who largely stayed away; one donor gave money but would not join. The first lot, on Hemphill Street, was a remote corner twenty blocks from the courthouse square, which is why the building moved downtown.

What the plaque says

Congregation Ahavath Sholom Recognized as Fort Worth's first Jewish congregation, Congregation Ahavath Sholom, meaning "Love of Peace", was organized in 1892. William Goldstein served as its first president. The first synagogue, a wooden structure built in 1893 and located at the corner of Hemphill and Jarvis Streets, was relocated to downtown Fort Worth (819 Taylor Street) in 1901. Subsequent growth in the congregation's membership led to the construction of a brick structure at the Taylor site in 1906. An adjoining building, which housed the congregation's Hebrew Institute, was built in 1914. The Institute's Ladies Auxiliary, organized in 1915, sponsored a Sunday school and assisted charity organizations. Mrs. Sam Rosen was its first president. The Institute served as a community center for military personnel during World Wars I and II. The Men's Club, organized in 1944 with Maurice Rabinowtz as president, develops cultural, social, and athletic interests. A new synagogue, erected at the corner of 8th and Myrtle Streets, was dedicated in 1952. A synagogue was constructed at this site in 1980. Although the location of the synagogue has changed, it continues to be the focal point for the religious observances of the congregation. (1993)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame — 4.0 mi
  A hall of fame begun in Hereford in 1975 to honor rodeo women, widened in 1977 to Western heritage, and housed in Fort Worth's Cultural District since 2002.
• Kimbell Art Museum — 4.5 mi
  Louis Kahn's cycloid-vaulted museum of 1972, built from Kay Kimbell's bequest and joined in 2013 by Renzo Piano's pavilion for the exhibitions the Kahn galleries could not hold.
• Tarrant County Courthouse — 5.9 mi
  A pink-granite courthouse of 1895 on the bluff where the Army set up Fort Worth in 1849, in a county named for the man who led the 1841 attack on the Native villages of Village Creek.
• Fort Worth Stockyards — 7.5 mi
  The brick-street cattle market where Armour and Swift built packing plants in 1902, now a National Register district with a Coliseum, a museum and a longhorn drive twice a day.

More markers nearby

• First Hundred Years of Texas Christian University — 2.3 mi
• Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary — 2.8 mi
• Texas Log Cabins — 2.9 mi
• Fort Worth Zoological Park — 3.0 mi