Cemetery Beni Israel in Eudora, Kansas

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Get directions Eudora, Kansas, USA

Coordinates: 38.92801, -95.11222
Cemetery ID:

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About these numbers These percentages indicate the number of Find a Grave memorials that have a grave photo or GPS coordinates. We don't know the total number of burials in a cemetery, so we cannot calculate a percentage of those with memorials, photos or GPS coordinates.

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Beni Israel Cemetery (also known as B'nai Israel) was established in 1858 by German and Polish Jewish members of the German Immigrant Settlement Company of Chicago, who founded Eudora, Kansas in 1856. The historic name "Beni Israel" refers specifically to the original section of the cemetery while "B'nai Israel" serves as the contemporary name.

As one of only two pre-statehood Jewish cemeteries in Kansas, the the cemetery stands as the major surviving property and the last remaining trace of the Jewish community that flourished in Eudora from 1857 to 1867 before relocating to Lawrence, Kansas.

While burials ceased in 1928, the site underwent a restoration in 1952 under the support of B'nai B'rith.

In 1978, the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation (LJCC) of nearby Lawrence assumed formal custody of the cemetery following a period of abandonment and neglect. LJCC members in good standing currently retain burial rights within the cemetery. On January 2, 2013, the cemeterywas officially added to the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

While burials ceased in 1928, the site underwent a restoration in 1952 under the support of B'nai B'rith.