One of Western Tennessee’s oldest Jewish Congregations.

Based upon inscriptions on early tombstones it has been learned that Jews lived in the Jackson area prior to the town’s incorporation in 1824. In 1885 they formed an officially chartered congregation. At first they met in some of the members’ homes and also in a hall above Tuchfeld’s store.

The congregation purchased a lot in 1885 but due to lack of funds did not proceed with building a synagogue. Twelve years later they traded the lot plus $600 for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church building. Services were held in that building from 1897 until the dedication of the present synagogue in 1941.

Architect Carl Heyer of Memphis, Tennessee was engaged to design the new synagogue which shows both Romanesque and Art-Deco influences. The simple curves and rectangular masses relate to Art-Deco while the arched doorways, windows and articulated walls are Romanesque in style. Each of the stained-glass sanctuary windows is a memorial to a former member of the congregation.

Congregation B’nai Israel had membership of about 120 families at its maximum. As of this writing, in 2017, there are about 30. Congregation B’nai Israel is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in Western Tennessee. In 2008 the temple was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.