Collections · Jewish Collections
The Jewish history of Louisville and the Ohio Valley.
Since 2017, the Filson has built a dedicated program to document, preserve, and study Jewish life in the region — manuscripts and family papers, organizational records, two complete runs of Louisville Jewish newspapers, oral histories, and a growing slate of exhibits and lectures.
Since 2017
A dedicated curatorial program.
The initiative began in 2017 with a start-up grant from The Jewish Heritage Fund and has been sustained by the James Graham Brown Foundation, the William Wood Foundation, the Filson’s Board of Directors, and individual donors.
In addition to actively collecting personal and family papers, business records, photographs, and organizational records of local Jewish life, the program hosts public exhibitions and lectures that surface the connections between Jewish history and the broader story of Louisville and the Ohio Valley.
Have questions about research or want to donate Ohio Valley Jewish history? Email Filson research staff.
Digitized newspapers
Two complete runs, fully searchable.
Through the Jewish Historical Press project (National Library of Israel + Tel Aviv University), two of Louisville’s Jewish newspapers are now fully searchable and browsable online.
YMHA Chronicler
March 1, 1913 – April 5, 1930
Search the archiveCommunity
December 3, 1971 – December 25, 2020
Search the archive
Digital collections
Inside the manuscripts and oral histories.
Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, 2001–2018
Summaries of 206 interviews with Louisville Jewish community members, conducted by JFCS volunteers under Ann Friedman of Klein Older Adult Services. Each interview asked about family immigration, religious life in Louisville, and what the narrator hoped their legacy would be.
Open in the Filson digital archiveLouisville Mendelssohn Lodge membership register, 1860–1921
An indexed membership register for the Louisville B'nai B'rith Mendelssohn Lodge, a Jewish fraternal organization — recording each member's name, residence, occupation, marital status, number of children, and induction date.
Open in the Filson digital archive
Digital exhibits
Five exhibits drawn from the Filson’s Jewish collections.
Continuity of Care: Transforming Jewish Hospital for Modern Louisville
Evolving Inspiration: The Art and Design of Julius Friedman
Jerry Abramson: Louisville's Mayor for Life
The Evolution of Louisville's Young Men's Hebrew Association and Jewish Community Center, 1890–2022
Violins of Hope in the Ohio Valley
Lectures & workshops
Four recorded programs to start with.
Our full Jewish-history program archive lives on the Filson YouTube channel.
Sister archives & partners
Where else to look.
The Filson is one of several institutions holding Ohio Valley Jewish history. The collections that complement ours:
- University of Louisville Libraries — Archives & Special Collections (Jewish collections)
- U of L Oral History Center — Louisville's Jewish Community oral histories
- University of Kentucky — Jewish Kentucky manuscripts and oral histories
- Herman Meyer and Son — Louisville Jewish cemetery / gravesite indexes
- Association of Jewish Libraries — Donna and Richard Harris Directory of Jewish Libraries, Archives, and Collections Around the World
Donate or research
Have an Ohio Valley Jewish family record to share?
The Filson actively acquires personal, family, business, and organizational papers documenting Jewish life in Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. We’ll guide you through the donation process, or help you plan a research visit.