Jewish Life in Leadwood, Missouri

The town of Leadwood organized in the early 1900s under the name Owl Creek, named for the body of water which ran through town.  The St. Joe Lead Company originally owned the town, which spanned about 104 blocks.  The city quickly flourished thanks to its placement along the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railway.

Much like the other communities in the Lead Belt, Jewish life in Leadwood was sparse.  Perhaps the first Jewish residents were the Goodmans, an immigrant family from the Russian Empire.  One of the three brothers in town moved to Leadwood in somewhat controversial fashion in 1908.  Before arriving in Missouri, Jake Goodman lived in New York, Chicago, and San Antonio.    At the age of 27, Goodman married Annie Harris, who had only recently turned 18.  Harris's family strongly objected to the marriage, so hoping to escape their eye Goodman and his bride moved to Leadwood, where Jake's two brothers, Aaron and Saunders, already lived.  After his arrival, Jake opened Goodman's Dry Goods and became one of Leadwood's pillars.  Of note, Saunders Goodman was married to Dorothy Siberstein, a St. Louis native whose sister married into the Kahn family of neighboring Desloge.