Hebron
Founded by six Russian Jews in 1884,
Hebron was located 20 to 25 miles southwest of Medicine Lodge.
Sponsored by the Montefiore Agricultural Aid Society, it was called
"New Jerusalem" by its Gentile neighbors.
By 1885, there were 30 families consisting
of 150 people. By 1886, there were 80 families consisting of 300
people. At its peak in 1886-1887, Hebron encompassed an area of
35 to 40 square miles.
Russians, Poles, Rumanians and Hungarians
were part of this colony. The Montefiore Agricultural Aid Society
began another colony in 1886 for the Rumanian refugees. It was
called Gilead and was located about 10 miles southwest of Hebron
in Comanche County.
However, after going through extreme
weather conditions such as blizzards, tornados and drought during
the years of 1886 and 1887, families began moving away from both
of these colonies. By 1891, there were no longer any Jewish colonists
in Hebron and Gilead. There were a few who had moved to nearby
towns, but most ended up going back east in the United States.
Jewish Colonies in Kansas set
up by Agricultural Aid Societies
Beersheba (Hodgeman) |
Gilead (Comanche) | Hebron (Barber)
| Lasker (Ford) | Leeser
(Finney) Montefiore (Pratt)
| Touro (Kearny)
Sources
Douglas, Donald M. "Forgotten
Zions: Jewish Agricultural Colonies in Kansas in the 1880's."
Kansas History 16 (Summer 1993): 108-119.
Harris, Lloyd David. "Sod
Jerusalems: Jewish Agricultural Communities in Frontier Kansas".
Masters Thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1984.
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