Avilla | Coldwater | Gilead
Homesteading in Comanche County
Gilead
After the Jewish colony of Hebron in Barber County had experienced a nice growth during its first two years, the Montefiore Agricultural Aid Society set up a nearby colony which was named Gilead. Founded in March 1886, Gilead was a colony of Rumanian Jews. About a dozen families settled in a spot about 3 miles south of Evansville.
However, a ten-year period of drought began in 1887, and there were also some severe winters. By 1891, there were no settlers left from the Gilead colony.
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.