Mount Zion Temple records

Founded in 1856 by eight German-Jewish families, Mount Zion Hebrew Association (as it was then called) was the very first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. Through the 1860s the congregation met in rented rooms around St. Paul before their first building was completed in 1871, located at East Tenth Street and Minnesota Street in the Lowertown district. In 1878 Mount Zion joined the liberal Reform Judaism. When larger numbers of Eastern European Jews began to immigrate to St. Paul, Mount Zion congregants came to their aid to offer support, creating relief groups. In 1904 a new temple was completed at the intersection of Holly and Avon; they looked to move again in 1951 to Summit Avenue. The new building, completed and dedicated in 1954, was designed by internationally recognized architect Erich Mendelsohn. In 2006 Mount Zion celebrated their 150th anniversary; they currently have over 650 households.

For more information on the history of Mount Zion Temple, please consult W. Gunther Plaut's 1956 publication Mount Zion, 1856-1956: The First Hundred Years, or Mary Ann Barrows Wark's publication Mount Zion Temple 150th Anniversary Commemorative Book. Both publications can be found in the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives collection. Further historical information can also be found at Mount Zion Temple's website, at http://mzion.org/about/minnesotas-first-synagogue/.