History Department

	RESOURCES   History of Temple B'nai Sholom   Jewish Cemetery List 360-degree image of Brookhaven synagogue

In the heart of southern Mississippi, Brookhaven was once a trading paradise for the passing traveler.  Starting as a pioneering outpost off the Bogue Chitto River, Brookhaven was incorporated in 1858, the same year the railroad reached the area.  

Jewish immigrants from Europe traveled along the river routes of the mighty Mississippi, which led to such places as Brookhaven.  It was a common belief that the first Jews started arriving in Lincoln County around 1852 via the Bogue Chitto River with aspirations to enter the mercantile economy.  For many locals, these Jewish immigrants should have posed a threat to native businesses; however, many were quite welcoming to the Jews.  In fact, a wealthy local in 1861 named Milton Jacob Whitworth said that he “had a consuming [wish] to make this part of Mississippi attractive to worthwhile settlers.”  Those words sparked Whitworth to donate land for a Jewish cemetery that still exists today off E. Monticello street. 

Like in many Southern communities, Brookhaven Jews initially worshipped together in private homes.  By the 1890s, the Jewish community was too large to continue this practice, so the Jews of Brookhaven, through the leadership of the Ladies’ Hebrew Society, formed Congregation B’nai Sholom.  After meeting in different places, the congregation built its first and only house of worship in 1896.  In this Reform synagogue, lay leaders took charge of religious duties since the temple was too small to support a resident rabbi.  Weekly services and religious school continued until the 1970s, when the congregation began to use the synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Brookhaven was home to many Jewish merchants.  Brothers Israel and Sam Abrams in the late 1800s started a general store called Abrams and Abrams.  This store became Abrams Mercantile Company after 1915, when Sam left for the furniture business.  From that point until the end of the twentieth century, Abrams Mercantile Company was a staple for hardware goods in Brookhaven.  Living through multiple generations, the Abrams family sold all types of goods including cow bells and stone churns, and the store became known for the motto: “if you don’t find it here, go home.”  The store stayed in business until the death of Clifford Abrams at age 96, the son of Israel Abrams and once the oldest merchant in Brookhaven.  Other stores in the early 1900s included Lewis Cohn & Brothers General Merchandise, Marx Motors, Lewinthal Drug Store, and Bowsky Clothier.  George Bowsky, co-owner of Bowsky Clothier, purchased a monument in Rosehill Cemetery in the 1920s in honor of his brothers’ and other soldiers’ service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  In addition, the Zwirn family operated a barber shop in the Inez Hotel of which the Jewish Shereck family had taken ownership after great success in dry goods.

From their position as merchants, Jews became part of the social fabric of Brookhaven, and worked to improve the community.  Natalie Wilson Cohn led efforts to raise funds for a public library.  By 1910, Cohn’s dream was complete, and she soon became president and longtime board member of the public library association in Brookhaven.  Three Jewish men have served as mayor of Brookhaven even though Jews make up only a small minority of the town.  These mayors included Abraham Lewinthal in 1889, followed later by furniture and dry goods merchant Sam Abrams around 1910, who was succeeded many years later by his grandson, Harold Samuels, in the 1970s and 1980s. 

While the Jewish people of Brookhaven had great impact on commercial relations, the Jewish population was never very large.  With estimates of eighty-five people in 1907 and fifty Jews by 1937, the community was quite small.  Despite its size, the Jewish community continued to be vibrant until the 1940s.  World War II marked the end of the Jewish renaissance in Brookhaven, as young people sought advanced education outside the local town, which led to technological and professional jobs in convenient large urban areas.  Throughout the post-war period, the community shrunk, especially with the passing of the older merchant generation.  In a town of 10,000, the small Jewish community of Brookhaven has struggled, yet persevered.  Finally, in 2009, the congregation formally disbanded, with its synagogue to be used as a museum by the local historical society.