Podcasts religion Radio Chavura The Pioneering Jewish Community of Leadville: An Interview with Bill Korn

The Pioneering Jewish Community of Leadville: An Interview with Bill Korn

Published: May 11, 2013, 5:36 p.m.

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The merchant store that became a national conglomerate. The immigrant family that emerged as among the wealthiest in America. The synagogue president who was also county commissioner (and -\\xa0bizarrely\\xa0- for a short time, the owner of a brothel).

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For a period of thirty years at the onset of the 20th century, Leadville was the economic driver of the state of Colorado and home to a thriving Jewish community.
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This week on\\xa0Radio Chavura,\\xa0Bill Korn, an expert on early Leadville Jewry who helped spearhead efforts to rededicate the town\'s forgotten synagogue and\\xa0cemetery, shares with us some of the more exciting anecdotes about the town\'s early Jewish\\xa0residents and merchants.
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Originally founded as a gold mining town, Leadville soon became known for its production of silver, zinc, and molybdenum.
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Jews - including\\xa0David May\\xa0(founder of the nationally prominent\\xa0May Company Department Stores); the\\xa0Guggenheim Family, owners of the\\xa0American Smelting and Refining Company\\xa0(ASARCO); and \\xa0County CommissionerJoseph Monheimer\\xa0- all became leaders among both the Jews and non-Jews in Leadville.
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The demise of the community began with collapse of the silver industry following the\\xa0Panic of 1893\\xa0and began a steady exodus out of Lake County. Few Jews live in or near Leadville today.\\n

But\\xa0Bill Korn and others maintain the old synagogue,\\xa0Temple Israel, as an event center and museum.\\xa0 And, with the help of\\xa0B\'nai Brith, the old Jewish cemetery remains open to visitors and the family of those buried there.

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The annual community cleanup of the Leadville Jewish\\xa0cemetery \\xa0- a\\xa0Mitzvah, and a wonderful summer event for the entire Colorado Jewish community - will be taking place during the last weekend of June this year (additional details soon).\\xa0
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To learn more about Jewish Leadville, be sure to attend Bill Korn\'s discourse at the JCC South \\xa0(9625 E. Arapahoe Rd. \\u2022 Greenwood Village, CO \\u2022 80112)\\xa0on\\xa0Thursday, May 30th at 7:30 pm.\\xa0

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[Do you have Jewish family roots in Leadville? Radio Chavura host, Maxwell Rotbart (in photo above with Bill Korn), is writing a history of Jewish Leadville and would like to hear from anyone with information, photos or memorabilia pertaining to Leadville during the period ranging from the late 1800s to World War II.\\xa0 Contact him at\\xa0radiochavura@gmail.com\\xa0or phone 1-855-JEWISH-4.]

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Photo: An artifact from early Jewish Leadville, where whiskey jugs such as this were quite common.\\xa0\\xa0
Schloss Bros\\xa0was one of many early Jewish businesses in the mining community.

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