The Hebrew Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, also known as Hebrew Burying Ground, dates from 1816. This Jewish cemetery, one of the oldest in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, was founded in 1816 as successor to the Franklin Street Burial Grounds of 1789. Among those interred here is Josephine Cohen Joel, who was well known in the early 20th century as the founder of Richmond Art Co. Within Hebrew Cemetery is a plot known as the Soldier's Section. It contains the graves of 30 Jewish Confederate soldiers who died in or near Richmond. It is one of only two Jewish military cemeteries outside of the State of Israel. Located at Fourth and Hospital Streets on historic Shockoe Hill, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2006. It was listed a second time on the National Register of Historic Places on June 16, 2022 as part of the

Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District The Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District, located in the Richmond, Virginia, city of Richmond, Virginia, is a significant example of a municipal almshouse-public hospital-cemetery complex of the sort that arose in the period of the New R ...

. The Hebrew Cemetery's northern extensions as well as the Hebrew Cemetery Annex are also part of the

Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (''Richmond's 2nd African Burial Ground'') was established by the city of Richmond, Virginia, for the interment of free people of color, and the enslaved. The heart of this now invisible burying ground is ...

. The Hebrew Cemetery is maintained by Congregation Beth Ahabah, a Reform congregation founded in Richmond in 1789.

Cemetery for Hebrew Confederate Soldiers

Within the Hebrew Cemetery is the Cemetery for Hebrew Confederate Soldiers. Along with a cemetery for Jewish veterans of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

located in Weissensee, Berlin, it is the only Jewish military cemetery not located in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The cemetery is on historic Shockoe Hill, and is also maintained by Congregation Beth Ahabah.

References

External links

Hebrew Cemetery Richmond
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PRELIMINARY INFORMATION FORM (PIF) for HISTORIC DISTRICTS, "Shockoe Hill Burying Ground" (127-7231)

DHR Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 127-7231 Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia 1816 establishments in Virginia Cemeteries in Richmond, Virginia Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Jewish cemeteries in Virginia Jews and Judaism in Richmond, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia