Jewish Missouri
While a French colony, the Louisiana territory forbid settlement in the region by non-Catholics. While the primary target of this enforcement was the Protestant Huguenots, the broad framing of the law extended this restriction to Jews as well. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jews were legally allowed to settle in Missouri for the first time.
Perhaps the first Jew to settle in Missouri was Ezekiel Block, a slaveowner from a traditionalist Bohemian family. Eventually, more than 20 members of the Block family settled in Missouri communities along the river, including Troy, Perryville, Cape Girardeau, and St. Louis. The majority of the Block family eventually married into Christian families. Jewish communities in eastern Missouri remained sparse, however. The largest community, St. Louis, had less than 100 Jews in 1840.
Mid-century German migration changed the fortunes of Jewish life in Missouri. Due to German migrations in the 1840s and 1850s, St. Louis's Jewish community blossomed to around 700, and significant new Jewish communities emerged in Kansas City and St. Joseph. Before the end of the century, both cities would have active congregations, as well as Jefferson City, Springfield, and Joplin.
