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Historic Highway Markers

Spotlight on:
Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome

Virginia's historical highway markers cover a wide variety of topics. The initial markers focused on the "great men" of Virginia, colonial churches and houses, and events of the American Revolution and Civil War. Over the past 20 years, historical marker topics have become more inclusive, so that they now feature stories of African Americans, Native Americans, women, and many other important but previously neglected subjects. Examples include: the United Negro College Fund; the Pamunkey Indians; Sallie Jones Atkinson, who worked on a state committee to get women's suffrage approved; and the origin of the banjo. Check back here often to see additional features on Virginia's historical highway markers. To learn more about the history of the program, go to "Marking History on Virginia's Roadways: The State's Historical Highway Marker Program."

Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome
One of the markers recently approved for Virginia’s Historical Highway Marker Program commemorates the first Jewish congregation in Virginia and the sixth established in the United States, Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome (Holy Congregation House of Peace) in Richmond.

From the colony’s beginnings, Jews participated in Virginia’s social and economic life. By 1789, Richmond’s Jewish community had grown large enough to establish a congregation, just three years after the Virginia General Assembly approved legislation providing religious freedom in the Commonwealth.

The congregation met in a number of temporary sites until it built a permanent synagogue on Mayo Street, dedicated on September 15, 1822. As no genre of synagogue architecture was established in early America, most Jewish houses of worship looked much like any Christian church. The Mayo Street building was a modest one-story brick structure with tall, arched windows and an unadorned pediment on its facade. The interior was decorated in white and gold, and orthodox in orientation. The pews ran lengthwise, and a reading platform stood at the center of the room. The ark and pulpit were placed at one end of the sanctuary. The structure was sold in 1891 and demolished in 1934. Beth Shalome merged with Richmond's Beth Ahabah (House of Love) congregation in 1898.