Walton Way synagogue Congregation Children of Israel (CCI) celebrated the permanent recognition of its initial site, Sunday afternoon, joining the Augusta Jewish Museum (AJM) and the Georgia Historical Society in unveiling its historical marker.
Angela Russo, manager of the museum, presided over the event commemorating the installation, held at the rear porch of the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, right across the street from the museum.
A series of addresses preceded the presentation of the new monument, including those by Historic Augusta director Erick Montgomery, Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History director Corey Rogers, AJM president Jack Weinstein and Michael Scharff of CCI.
The original Congregation Children of Israel temple on Telfair Street was built in 1869, to be a permanent location for worship of the Orthodox Jewish B’nai Israel congregation established in 1845.
The congregation held services there until the 1950s, by which it had become Reformed, then moving to the current Walton Way location. The city used the former house of worship as an office building until 2015, after the construction of the Judicial Center on James Brown Boulevard.
That marked the establishment of the Augusta Jewish Museum, which operates on the property, while the temple building is currently being refurbished to become a cultural center.
“The story of Augusta’s first and longest active Jewish congregation reflects the centuries long story of Jewish immigration to the United States,” said Breana James, historical marker program associate at the Georgia Historical Society. “This congregation navigated challenges in a new country, making choices about how they practice among such diversity and finding homes for their congregation to be able to worship and gather today.”
The Augusta Jewish Museum received approval from the Georgia Historical Society to install the marker after its second application for it in 2024, the first being in 2021.
“In Augusta, I feel that a lot of people aren’t aware of the Jewish community… of other regional groups outside of their own,” said Russo on the significance of the new marker. “So it’s good to show that history, where we can and invite them to seek out the history.”
The Augusta Jewish Museum, where the marker can be seen right in front of the former temple building, is located at 525 Telfair St.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
