{{Short description|Synagogue in Wawarsing, New York, USA}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox religious building | building_name = Ulster Heights Synagogue | image = Ulster Heights Synagogue.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | caption = Front (south) elevation and east profile of building, 2008 | map_type = New York | map_size = 250 | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in [[New York (state)|New York]] | location = [[Wawarsing, New York|Ulster Heights]], [[Catskill Mountains|Catskill]] region, [[New York (state)|New York]] | country = United States | geo = {{Coord|41|46|49|N|74|31|03|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=it}} | latitude = | longitude = | religious_affiliation = [[Judaism]] | rite = | region = | state = | province = | territory = | prefecture = | sector = | district = | cercle = | municipality = | consecration_year = | status = [[Synagogue]] | functional_status = Active | heritage_designation = | leadership = | website = {{url|ckisrael.com}}{{dead-link|date=March 2024}} | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = | general_contractor = | facade_direction = South | established = {{nowrap|{{circa|1908}} {{small|(as a congregation)}}}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1924 | construction_cost = | specifications = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = Wood | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Ulster Heights Synagogue | nrhp_type = | partof = | partof_refnum = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_ref = | mpsub = | added = February 19, 2001 | area = less than one acre | refnum = 01000045<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref> }} | footnotes = <ref name="NRHP nom">{{cite report|type=none|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322751 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Ulster Heights Synagogue|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |author= John A. Bonafide|date= October 2000| access-date=December 2, 2025 }} ({{NationalArchivesNote}})</ref> }} '''Ulster Heights Synagogue''', formally known as '''Congregation Knesset Israel of Ulster Heights''', is a [[Judaism|Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]], located at the corner of Beaver Dam and Ulster Heights roads in the Ulster Heights section of the town of [[Wawarsing, New York|Wawarsing]], in the [[Catskill Mountains|Catskill]] region of [[New York (state)|New York]], in the United States.
The congregation was formed in the early 1900s and the synagogue building was built in 1924 by the early [[Jewish American]] settlers of the southeastern Catskill region. In 2001 the synagogue building was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as a relatively intact example of a [[vernacular architecture|vernacular]] rural synagogue typical of the region. Since its construction the building has been renovated and added to but it is still true to its original form. Over the years the original population of the area has dwindled and it has fewer members than it did in the early years. It has not held services on the [[High Holy Days]] in recent{{when?|date=March 2024}} years.
==Building== The synagogue is a one-story three-by-three-[[bay (architecture)|bay]] structure, with a newer wing to the west, sided in white [[vinyl siding|vinyl]], which replaced the original [[clapboard (architecture)|clapboard]]. It was built of wood frame with a [[fieldstone]] and [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] [[foundation (architecture)|foundation]]. The roof is [[gable]]d and [[roof shingle|shingled]] in [[asphalt shingle|asphalt]]. On three sides the roof has a deep [[cornice]] with returns; the front gable is [[parapet]]ed.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
A single brick [[chimney]] comes up through the rear. The front entrance has a slightly raised [[portico]]<ref name="NRHP nom" />
The interior consists of a small [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] leading into the [[auditorium]], where the [[ark (synagogue)|ark]] is on the rear and [[pew]]s surround the [[Bema#Judaism|bimah]] on three sides. A wide hallway leads into the new wing, used as a community center.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
Originally the synagogue's interior was very plain. Some [[ornament (architecture)|decorative]] touches such as a [[chandelier]] in the auditorium and a [[wrought iron|wrought-iron]] [[Guard rail|rail]]ing around the bimah, have been added since its construction.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
==History==
Jews from [[Eastern Europe]] began settling in the Catskills starting in 1900. The area of Ulster and [[Sullivan County, New York|Sullivan]] counties due west of [[Ellenville, New York|Ellenville]] and [[Kerhonkson, New York|Kerhonkson]] became a popular destination. One of these areas was Ulster Heights, in the western highlands of the [[Wawarsing, New York|Town of Wawarsing]], near the Sullivan County line.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
The Jews who settled here and managed to make a living [[dairy farming|dairy]] and [[poultry farming|poultry]] farming the difficult, rocky soil were unusual in that they continued as a farming community, instead of gradually becoming a [[resort]] area like many other Jewish enclaves in the region. They held prayer services in their homes at first, gradually settling on Samuel Tannenbaum's [[hotel]]/[[boarding house]] as more families arrived.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
From 1908 on the group had wanted to build its own meeting place, but only in 1922 had it raised enough money to purchase the land. A foundation was built shortly afterwards, but the [[lumber]] turned out to be rotten and the group soon had just an empty hole. Samuel Kaufman, a lawyer who vacationed nearby, decided to help raise money and by the end of that summer had secured enough from resort owners for the congregation to start building again. Ulster Heights Synagogue was formally opened with [[Passover]] services in 1924.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
It would remain the focal point of the small community for the next two decades. As the children of the early settlers began moving elsewhere in the years after [[World War II]], it declined until a young couple, Morris and Celia Rudin, led an effort that not only reversed that trend but renovated the building, adding its ark, chandelier and other interior decor, and building the portico new wing and residing the structure. Many of these changes had the effect of making Ulster Heights more like the other rural synagogues in the area.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
At the end of the 20th century, the congregation still had around 30 members, mainly descendants of the original founding families. It has not held services on the [[High Holy Days]] in recent years.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
The small cemetery for the synagogue is on Briggs Highway about 3.5 miles away.
==References== {{stack|{{Portal|Hudson Valley|Judaism}}}} {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.ckisrael.com/}}{{dead-link|date=March 2024}}
{{Synagogues in the United States}} {{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
[[Category:1900s establishments in New York (state)]] [[Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in the 1900s]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Ulster County, New York]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1924]] [[Category:Synagogues in Upstate New York]] [[Category:Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)]] [[Category:Wawarsing, New York]] [[Category:Wooden synagogues]]