Jews in Wisconsin
Jewish immigration to Wisconsin occurred over a long period beginning in the mid-to-late 18th century and continuing into the 20th century. This time period can be broken into three main segments based on where most of these immigrants came from. The first few Jews to settle in Wisconsin came in the 18th century and were of English or Canadian background. The second group came from Central Europe, primarily Germany, between 1830 and 1880. The third and largest group came from Eastern Europe, beginning in the late 1880s and continuing through the early 20th century.
Early Jews in Wisconsin
The history of Jews in Wisconsin began after France surrendered the Northwest Territory to the British in 1759. Prior to this time, any professing Jew was subject to France's Black Code of 1724 which outlawed Jews from the French colonies. The first known Jew to come to Wisconsin was fur trader Jacob Franks. He came to Green Bay around 1794.
19th Century German Jews
Until the 1830s, few Jews lived in Wisconsin but their numbers increased substantially with the influx of approximately five million German-speaking immigrants to the United States between 1840 and 1880. Many of these German Jews arrived in New York City and stayed there until they had saved enough money to move west to Wisconsin.
Milwaukee's Jewish Community
The first organized Jewish community emerged in Milwaukee. Jews dominated the city's clothing and footware manufacturing. By 1895, nearly all of Milwaukee's clothing factories were Jewish-owned.
The Emanu-El Cemetery Association, formed in 1848, was the foundation for the state's first Jewish congregation. Wisconsin's first synagogue building was built in Milwaukee in 1856. Milwaukee synagogues promoted Jewish integration into American life by holding regular Thanksgiving Day services and by celebrating Washington's birthday.
Wisconsin's second Jewish community emerged in Madison in the 1850s. Another community formed in La Crosse in the latter decades of the 19th century.
Early 20th Century Central European Immigration
Between 1880 and 1920, millions of eastern European and Russian Jews came to the United States. This group differed in many ways from the German Jews who came before them. The German Jews had tended to come from an urban, secular environment, while the Russian Jews were more traditional and from rural areas. These Russian and Polish Jews also tended to live separately from Russian and Polish Christians, unlike German Jews who had settled among other Germans.
In 1880, 2,559 Jews lived in Wisconsin; by 1889, 10,000. The majority of Russian Jews stayed in Milwaukee but communities began to emerge in smaller Wisconsin towns in the 1880s. The needs of immigrants in the early 20th century reinvigorated Jewish charity groups such as the various relief societies that distributed aid and taught classes to new immigrants.
The Resettlement of Jewish Populations
To deal with the tremendous numbers of Eastern European Jews entering the United States in the early 20th century, the Industrial Removal Office was created in 1900 to disperse Jews from cities to the countryside. In 1904, the Industrial Removal Office helped move 18 Russian and Romanian families from Milwaukee to Arpin in Wood County to establish a farming community. Arpin's settlers did not adapt to the farming lifestyle, however, and many moved back to Milwaukee. After several failed attempts to establish Jewish farm colonies, the Industrial Removal Office redirected its efforts to move Jews from large cities like New York City to smaller urban areas like Milwaukee, Madison, and La Crosse. Approximately 3,700 Jews were placed in 74 Wisconsin towns and cities: most settled in Milwaukee.
Post World War II Immigration
After World War II, about 1,000 Jewish survivors of the Nazi Holocaust settled in Wisconsin. Between 1974 and 1981, archivists interviewed 22 of these survivors about their lives and experiences, including pre-war childhoods in Europe and post-war immigration to Wisconsin. The interviews contain a wealth of detail on Wisconsin Jewish communities during the second half of the 20th century.
[Source: Wisconsin's Cultural Resources Study Units, Wisconsin Historical Society]
Learn More
See more images, essays, newspapers and records about Jews in Wisconsin.
Dictionary of Wisconsin History
Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.