Temple Israel is a historic former

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at Lafayette,

Tippecanoe County, Indiana Tippecanoe County ( ) is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana about east of the Illinois state line, less than from the Indianapolis metro area, and from Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population wa ...

, in the United States. Its 1867 building is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in the United States. Deconsecrated as a synagogue in 1969, the most recent use of the building was as a Unitarian

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

History

The congregation, called Ahavas Achim Congregation, was formed on April 27, 1849, the second Jewish congregation organized in Indiana. In 1874 it became a founding member of the

Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

. The congregation moved to its third and present location on Cumberland Avenue in West Lafayette. The Temple Israel building of 1866–1867, located at 17 South 7th Street, was renamed as Temple Israel in 1919. It is a two-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a 19th-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular s ...

structure. The building was dedicated by Rabbi

Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819 – 26 March 1900) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in Bohemia (today Lomnička, a part of Plesná in the Czech Republic). He was the son ...

. Morris M. Feuerlicht was rabbi of Temple Israel from 1901 to 1904. The building was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982. In 1969 the building was sold to the

American National Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded the organization in 1881 after initial ...

and was purchased in 1976 by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Greater Lafayette. The UU congregation vacated this location in October 2007.

References

External links

Synagogue website
1849 establishments in Indiana 19th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Lafayette, Indiana Churches converted from synagogues Former churches in Indiana Former synagogues in Indiana Founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Indiana Jewish organizations established in 1849 National Register of Historic Places in Tippecanoe County, Indiana Reform synagogues in Indiana Romanesque Revival architecture in Indiana Rundbogenstil synagogues Synagogues completed in 1867 Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Unitarian Universalist churches in Indiana Synagogues in Indiana {{TippecanoeCountyIN-NRHP-stub