Orange-Based Group Walks Into New Haven History

Information via Temple Emanuel

ORANGE, CT — Although New Haven, like any other vibrant city, is constantly being reborn, about 15 people walked through the streets north of the Green on Sunday, looking for traces of Jewish life in New Haven during the late 19th Century.

Sponsored by the Men's Club of Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven, the tour was conducted by the Ethnic Heritage Center and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven, according to a news release.

Looking out from City Hall across the Green at some of the city's prominent churches, the tour began with overview of New Haven's religious history and the arrival of the Pinto Brothers, recorded in 1758 as the first Jews in New Haven. The home of William Pinto, one of the sons of the original Jewish settlers, was an early stop on the tour. The plain green house on Orange Street was built around 1810. Pinto was its second owner.

A Yale grad, William Pinto was a Revolutionary War soldier and a merchant. He was chosen to copy the Declaration of Independence for distribution, and his friend Eli Whitney died in the house in 1825 while awaiting the completion of his own home nearby.

The group visited the site of the United Workers Building, which was knocked down and replaced by the Hall of Records. The United Workers Building was home to the YMHA which evolved to become the Jewish Community Center, which today has its facilities in Woodbridge.

Other sites included the original Mishkin Israel building. Now located in Hamden, it was the first synagogue in New Haven. Another stop was the home Lafayette Mendel, one of the first Jewish tenured Yale professors and the man who laid the groundwork for today’s food science and dietary studies.

Also visited was the home of the Jewish man who founded the New Haven Symphony and created Yale’s collection of historical musical instruments.

It wasn't all Jewish history. The group walked across the Farmington Canal in several places, learning a little about the first wave of Irish immigration. It visited the home of Dr. Stephen J. Maher, a doctor who helped fight the tuberculosis epidemic and founded Saint Raphael's Hospital. Participants also learned about Father Michael McGivney who, in 1882, founded the Knights of Columbus.

Those participating in the tour came away with a greater understanding of Jewish life in those early days, including some of the forces that created modern local Jewish organizations and facilities.

"It was very enlightening," Mark Weber of Milford said in a news release. "I've been in the New Haven area since the 1970s, but I didn't know about our rich Jewish history here. And being with others as we learned about our heritage made it more enjoyable."

More information about the Temple is available at www.tegnh.org.