Mikveh Israel Cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The cemetary is not too large compared to your typical cemetary. The whole premises is less than 0.2 acres in size. The cemetary is a registerd historic site in Philadelphia and also a national historic site dubbed by the Independence National Historic Park. The cemetary is located in center city about four blocks south of Independence Hall.
The cemetary has a very interesting history. It was previously a burial ground for pirates and the family of Nathan Levy. It is said that Levy's ship, The Myrtilla, was responsible for transporting the Liberty Bell from England to Philadelphia! Unfortunately, in 1738, one of Levy's children died of illness. Instead of burying his child in unsanctified ground he asked John Penn, who was cheif of Pennsylvania's propriety government at the time, for a small piece of land with the intention of making it a family cemetary.
The leaders of Mikveh Israel and their family members were eventually buried in the cemetery very close to Spruce Street. Nathan Levy's tomb which has dated to 1753, bears the oldest readable writing on a tombstone in the cemetery. The dates and the names which are barely readable on the weathered old tombstones add dimensions to the story of the emerging American nation.
In July 1953, an Ordinance came about in the City Council of Philadelphia. This ordinance was aimed at establishing the Mikveh Israel Cemetery as a historic shrine. Since 1956, Mikveh Israel Cemetery has been a National Historic Shrine. The late congressman James Byrnes introduced in the House of Representatives a bill to make the Spruce Street Cemetery and Christ Church, located at Second and Market Streets, national historic sites. This is where Washington had worshipped. On July 23, 1956 the House passed the bill.
Website Used for Information:
Milgrim, S. (2004, August 14). Mikveh israel cemetery. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/mikvehisrael/index.htm
Photos taken by:
Gj Scott
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