Connecticut Jewish Farming History

Many Jews immigrated to the Eastern United States towards the end of the nineteenth century specifically to become farmers. Although these new settlers were financed by a variety of philanthropies, most of the funding in New England was provided by the Baron de Hirsh Fund. The Baron, along with many of his contemporaries, believed that Jews should embrace agriculture in order to combat the stereotype of the exclusively urban Jew.

Successive waves of immigrants would arrive whenever conditions for Jews deteriorated in Europe or Russia. Many of these Jews sought a healthful life in farming as an antidote to the terrible experiences they had endured in their places of origin. As a result, Jewish farming communities and synagogues emerged throughout Connecticut.

The extensive involvement of Connecticut Jewry in the development of New England farming and related enterprises is usually forgotten. Offshoots of Jewish farms included small family hotels and other resorts. Some farms eventually evolved into large and prosperous businesses such as the Connecticut Packing Company (Copaco).

Although the nature of farming changed significantly towards the end of the twentieth century, in 2000 many Connecticut farms were still in the hands of descendants of their original owners. It is fortunate for historians that so much of the material in this collection was assembled and preserved.

Most of the material in this collection was generated as a result of a survey of Jewish farms in Connecticut jointly undertaken in 1995-1998 by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford and the Connecticut Historical Commission. Other material related to Jewish farms in Connecticut has been added since that time. The collection includes photographs of individual farms, farmers, and farm buildings, oral histories, and newspaper articles regarding local farm families and businesses. See also: "A Life of the Land: Connecticut's Jewish Farmers", a journal published by the Society.