Welcome to the Riverlands Jewish Archive
Exploring the History of the Jewish Life in the Lower Midwest & Upper South
About Riverlands Jewish Archive
Who We Are
Founded in 2024, the Riverlands Jewish Archive is a collaboration between the Western Kentucky University Department of History, Indiana Jewish Historical Society, and the various Jewish communities in the region. Our primary goal is to preserve the rich history of Jewish communities along in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.
Archive Launch April 6
Though our site went live in November, we never held a formal launch of the archive. We are excited to announce that our formal launch of the Archives will be April 6th, when we will have a luncheon and exhibition of some of the physical ephemera we have collected, as well as hear from photographer Emily Rena Williams about her work documenting small-town synagogues and Jewish communities. This event will be free and open to the public. While the luncheon will be hosted on campus at WKU, we will be live streaming the event for those of you who are not able to physically make it to Bowling Green.
Launching our Revamped and Upgraded Archive in April!
Good news, everyone! We have grown enough in our first six months to require an overhaul and upgrade of our records management system. It has been all hands on deck as Big Red and our workers are feverishly working on getting all of our nearly 10,000 records ready to go for the launch of our revamped archive in April. The new system will provide easier access to our digital collections as well as more intuitive search functions.
Our Partners
