Mineola's Jewish Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Mineola's Jewish community, up there in Wood County. Now settle in, because this is a story about people who traveled a long road, and then built something that lasted. Jewish immigrants came to Texas through Galveston, and shortly after Mineola was established in 1873, they started arriving by train.

You picture that. A town barely getting its footing, and here come folks stepping off the cars, looking around, and deciding, yes, this is the place. They didn't wait long to get to work.

Near the intersection of Broad and Johnson Streets, businesses started going up, one after another. Simon and Aaron Munzesheimer. Brothers Nathan and Hiram Sodekson.

Emmanuel, known to folks as Buddie, Mayer. And then there was Isaac Bromberg, a man the marker calls a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist, which is the kind of description a person has to earn twice over. Beyond those names, Mineola's Jewish community grew to include the Goldmans, the Krausses, the Weiners, and the Zuckermans, families who put down roots and stayed.

Now here's the part worth sitting with for a moment. The marker says, plainly and without any fuss, that the contributions of these early Jewish families played a major role in the economic, cultural, and social development of the city. Not a small role.

Not a supporting role. A major one. They came by train, they set up shop near Broad and Johnson, and they helped build a city that still carries their mark.

What the marker says

Jewish immigrants who came to Texas through Galveston started arriving by train in Mineola shortly after its establishment in 1873. Many soon established businesses near the intersection of Broad and Johnson Streets, including Simon and Aaron Munzesheimer; brothers Nathan and Hiram Sodekson; Emmanuel "Buddie" Mayer; and prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist Isaac Bromberg. Other leading Jewish families in Mineola included the Goldmans, Krausses, Weiners and Zuckermans. The contributions by the early Jewish families of Mineola played a major role in the economic, cultural and social development of the city.