Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Ala.) Records

A number of unmarked plots were set aside as a Hebrew burial ground by the City of Huntsville in 1874. It was the first visible presence of an organized Jewish community in Huntsville. Like many small Jewish communities, Huntsville’s originated with a cemetery. The old Hebrew burial ground served Congregation B’nai Sholom for over one hundred years, until all the grave sites were sold and additional sections along California and McClung Streets were purchased by Temple B’nai Sholom. In 1875, B’nai B’rith organized a Huntsville chapter and shortly thereafter the members organized Congregation B’nai Sholom. From its inception, along with its other duties, B’nai B’rith took responsibility for maintaining the Hebrew burial ground and the Congregation took responsibility for the community’s religious services. During the twentieth century, B’nai B’rith declined as Huntsville’s Jewish population diminished. B’nai B’rith continued to take responsibility for the cemetery until 1941 when Lawrence Bernstein Goldsmith Sr., who was treasurer of the Temple and a member of B’nai B’rith, began collecting for a maintaining the cemetery for the Congregation. The Goldsmith family continued to look after the Jewish section of Maple Hill Cemetery until 2011 when maintenance was handed over to the City of Huntsville. The trust was dissolved and the funds put in the Birmingham Jewish Foundation for the benefit of Temple B'nai Sholom to use for the grave sites of their members in Maple Hill. Note: A full history of the Jewish section of Maple Hill Cemetery written by Margaret Anne Goldsmith is located in Box 1, File 1.