Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center
Clairton, Pa. is a city in Allegheny County. It was a sparsely populated area until the Carnegie Steel Company built a steel mill and coke plant in the early 1900s. Under the ownership of the U.S. Steel Corporation, the Clairton plant became one of the largest of its kind in the world. Clairton was incorporated as a borough in 1903 and became a third-class city in 1922, when it merged with the nearby Wilson and North Clairton.
The first Jewish settlers in Clairton arrived shortly after the mill was built. They organized Congregation B’nai Abraham Anshe Sfard around 1903 and incorporated the Orthodox congregation in 1908. Charter members were David Krill, Abraham Recht, Max Recht, Morris Recht, Sam Recht and Bernet B. Samuels. In 1918, the congregation purchased and renovated a former Presbyterian church at First Street (now Reed Street) and Waddell Avenue at a cost of $10,000, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Daily Post. To accommodate the tradition of facing Jerusalem during prayer, the ark was placed at the east-facing front entrance and worshipers entered the building through the kitchen.
The Jewish population of Clairton grew through the 1930s and rapidly declined from the 1940s. Even at its peak, many families also maintained membership in congregations in nearby McKeesport, Pa., presumably for religious school and cemetery privileges. A portion of the Tree of Life-Sfard section of Elrod Cemetery contains many Clairton burials, likely reflecting some of the shared Galitzianer ties between the two communities.
The Jewish communities of Clairton and nearby Elizabeth partnered on a B’nai B’rith lodge, a Hadassah chapter and an intermittent religious school in the 1940s.
Despite its small membership, Congregation B’nai Abraham Anshe Sfard employed a spiritual leader, Rabbi Jacob Friedman, throughout most of the 1930s.
The total population of Clairton peaked in the 1950s and declined rapidly after U.S. Steel discontinued steelmaking operations at the plant in 1962. By the early 1970s, Congregation B’nai Abraham Anshe Sfard was no longer holding regular services. The four remaining members—Leonard Chotiner, Norman Ilkuvitz, Herman Silberblatt and Max Zweibel—liquidated the assets of the congregation in 1979 and 1980 and donated the proceeds to Hillel Academy, Yeshiva Achei T’mimim, and the Kollel Jewish Learning Center. The former synagogue building was later demolished.
Population
| Type | Year | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish population [Clairton] | 1918 | 12 members | Clairton Synagogue Dedicated Yesterday," Pittsburgh Daily Post, March 11, 1918 |
| Jewish population [Clairton] | 1937 | 230 | American Jewish Yearbook, Vol. 42 [1940-1941] |
| Jewish population [Clairton] | 1951 | 120 | American Jewish Yearbook, Vol. 52 [1951] |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1910 | 3,326 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1920 | 6,264 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1930 | 15,291 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1940 | 16,381 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1950 | 19,652 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1960 | 18,389 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1970 | 15,051 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1980 | 12,188 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 1990 | 9,656 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 2000 | 8,491 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 2010 | 6,796 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
| Total population [Clairton] | 2020 | 6,181 | U.S. Census via Wikipedia |
Families
Families associated with the Jewish community of Clairton include: Amster, Berkovitz, Chottiner, Ilkuvitz, Recht, Samuels, Silberblatt, Spodek, Teper, Tepper, Wise, and Zweibel.
Bibliography
Rauh Jewish Archives
Collections
- Jewish Community of Clairton materials, from Synagogue Documentation Project Records [MSS 317] (catalog record).
- Audrey Lazar Papers and Photographs [MSS 1055] (catalog record).
- Ilkuvitz Clothing Store Records and Photographs [2012.0196].
Maps
- Clairton map, 1924, Sanborn Map Co. [F157 .A49 C5 1924] (catalog record).
Newspapers
- Clairton Crucible (catalog record).
- Clairton Progress (catalog record).
- Elizabeth Herald (catalog record).
- Elizabeth Herald (catalog record).
- McKeesport Daily News (catalog record).
Books and Articles
- The Clairtonian (Clairton High School yearbook) 1930, 1941, 1944 [LD7501 .C63 C62 q] (catalog record).
- Clairton High School class of 1939 50th Anniversary Class Reunion program [LD7501 .C63 C633 1989] (catalog record).
- Clairton High School class of 1939 25th Anniversary Class Reunion program [LD7501 .C63 C633 1974] (catalog record).
- Saylor and Warne. “Statistical abstract of Clairton, Pennsylvania,” Bureau of Business Research, School of the Liberal Arts, The Pennsylvania State College 1953 [HA601 .S29 C53 q] (catalog record).
Oral Histories
- Audrey Lazar oral history [2016.0081] (online).
University of Pittsburgh Archives & Special Collections
Maps
- Clairton map, 1938, reduced and traced by John Marcy (online).
Oral histories
- Sidney Gross oral history, 1995, from National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records [AIS1664.40] (online).
Exhibit History
- Author: Eric Lidji
- Created: May 12, 2017
- Current: June 4, 2024