Archival Materials in Kentucky
There is not much in the way of archival material in Kentucky related to the commonwealth’s Jewish history. Here, however, is an account of what exists:
When it comes to congregational archives, the most extensive and best organized are those of The Temple: Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom in Louisville. Here is the link to the “Archives” page on The Temple’s web site: http://www.thetemplelouky.org/#!archives--museum/c1efw.
Also holding some archival materials are Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Louisville and Temple Adath Israel in Lexington, although neither of these congregations has organized its holdings as well as The Temple has. Neither Adath Jeshurun in Louisville nor Adath Israel in Lexington seem to have any information about their archival holdings on their web sites, but here are the congregations’ web address: For Adath Jeshurun, http://www.adathjeshurun.com/; for Adath Israel, http://www.lextai.org/.
Another place to find some archival holdings related to Kentucky’s Jewish history is the University of Louisville Archives. Among its holdings are records from Louisville’s Jewish Community Federation, Jewish Community Center, and Jewish Hospital. The Oral History Center within the Archives also has a large number of interviews with individual Jews. Here is the link to the Archives home page: http://louisville.edu/library/archives/.
Finally, one other set of archival materials that may be of interest to those interested in Kentucky’s Jewish history is the papers of Louis Brandeis, on deposit at the University of Louisville law school. Here is the link to information about the Brandeis Papers: http://www.law.louisville.edu/library/collections/brandeis/.
Prepared by Lee Shai Weissbach, University of Louisville