Clarion

Clarion, Pa. was settled in the mid-19th century and incorporated as a borough in 1841. The borough grew as the region became home to the lumber, coal, oil and natural gas operations in the late 19th century.

The discovery of oil in northwest Pennsylvania in 1859 brought more Jewish families to the area, but unlike nearby Jewish communities in Clearfield, DuBois, Franklin and Oil City, the Jewish community in Clarion was never large enough to support an independent congregation or a religious school. The American Jewish Yearbook did not include Clarion in population surveys in its 1907-1908, 1918-1919 or 1928-1929 editions but counted 32 people for the survey in its 1940-1941 edition.

Kaufman

The earliest Jewish resident in Clarion was likely Charles Kaufman (1832-1916). Kaufman immigrated to Pittsburgh from Baden, Germany in 1852 and moved to Clarion the following year. He started a clothing store in Clarion in November 1853. He expanded the business into general merchandising in the early 1860s, added a lumberyard in 1865, and added wholesale tobacco and cigars in 1879.

Charles Kaufman married Rosa Weil (1833-1908) of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati on Dec. 25, 1855. As part of the growth of their business, Charles and Rosa Kaufman acquired a large house at 600-602 Main Street in 1865 and expanded the property over the years.

Kaufman was an inaugural director of the First National Bank of Clarion in 1865, past-president of the Clarion County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the Clarion Water Company, and an investor in the Natural Gaslight and Heat Company and the Agricultural Association. Before the arrival of the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad in 1884, he was the sole agent for rail express companies in town. He served on the city council and the school board, as well as stints as local tax collector and arbitrator. He was as a court translator for German-speaking witnesses and a power of attorney for many people conducting business between Clarion and Germany.  At the time of his death, he was the oldest and longest-tenured member of Clarion Lodge No. 252 of the International Order of Odd Fellows and Clarion Lodge No. 277 of the Free and Accepted Masons. Upon his death, a local newspaper wrote, “No man has been more closely associated with the material prosperity and general advancement of Clarion than Mr. Kaufman.”

Wein

Joseph and Fage Rachel (Kalman) Wein lived in Suwalk province in present-day Poland in the latter half of the 19th century. They had nine children, Philip (1871-1932), Sheine (1873-1955), Reuben (1875-1957), Hyman (1878-1972), Rivka (1880-?), Moshe (1883-1923), Gussie (1886-1959), Thomas (1889-1941), and Victor (1894-1917). Sheine, Rivka, and Moshe remained in Europe with their parents, while their siblings all immigrated to the United States.

Gussie Wein started a dressmaking shop in Reynoldsville, Pa. Thomas Wein immigrated to Sweden around 1903 and then to New York in 1908, joining his older brother Philip Wein. After pursuing opportunities in Wisconsin and upstate New York, Thomas and Philip Wein started the Bazaar Store in Clarion, Pa. in 1912, one train-stop from Reynoldsville. They wanted to be closer to their sister without directly competing. After a fire in 1916, they reopened at 622 Main St. under the name Wein Brothers. They purchased the building and a neighboring lot in 1922, allowing for an expansion. The business also had a branch in Brookville by 1931.

Morris Wein’s son Alan Wein joined the business as a third generation in 1982 and oversaw its operations into the 21st century. Wein Brothers closed in 2020, making it one of the longest-operating Jewish-owned department stores in Western Pennsylvania. Throughout most of the 20th century, the extended Wein family represented a large percentage of the Jewish population of Clarion, Pa. and sometimes the entire Jewish population.

The Wein family attended Tree of Life Synagogue in nearby Oil City, Pa. and but oversaw a B’nai B’rith lodge in Clarion. The lodge was the most enduring Jewish communal organization in Clarion. Starting in the late 1960s, the lodge joined other lodges throughout the region to form the Northwest Pennsylvania Council.

For More Information

Throughout the history of Clarion, the Wein family represented a large majority of its Jewish population and often its entire Jewish population. At its peak, the family occupied nine houses in Clarion.

Family	Address
Sybil and Morris Wein	12 Campbell Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Ros and Joe Wein	72 Campbell Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Tom and Sophie Wein	87 6th Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Philip and Jenny Wein	414 South St., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Sylvia and Hyman Wein	89 6th Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Dorothy and Charles Wein	177 S. 7th Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Ida and Meyer Wein	637 Wood St., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Minna and Milton Wein	155 S. 7th Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214
Victor Wein	87 6th Ave., Clarion, Pa. 16214

Bibliography

Collections

• Wein’s Department Store Records [MSS 1291] (catalog record).
• Kate and Josh Bayer Papers and Photographs [MSS 1284] (catalog record).
• Clarion materials, from Esthyr and Sam Slesnick Papers on the Oil City Jewish Community [MSS 1233] (catalog record).
• Clarion materials, from Karp Family Papers and Photographs [MSS 1100] (catalog record).
• Clarion materials, from Tree of Life Congregation (Oil City) Record [MSS 1234] (catalog record).
• Bridge and buildings in Clarion, Pa. [photo.] [GPC Box 23 Folder 40] (catalog record).
• Clarion County – Towns (Brady’s Bend, Foxburg, New Bethlehem) [vertical file] (catalog record).
• Clarion County materials, from General Postcard Collection (catalog record).

Serials

• “Clarion Independent Banner” (1868: Sep 18, Dec 11; 1869: Apr 30) (catalog record).
• “The Clarion Democrat” (1875: Mar 5) (catalog record).
• Clarion University of Pennsylvania “Sequelle” (1951, 1952, 1954) (catalog record).
• Clarion University of Pennsylvania “Clarion” (1989; 1991-​1992; 1993-​ Jan-May Vol. 39 nos. 1-2; 1993/94- President’s Report; 1994- Jan-May Vol. 40 nos. 1-2; 1995- Jan-May Vol. 41 nos. 1-2) (catalog record).
• Clarion County Historical Society newsletter (1996- Summer; 2001- Summer, Fall; 2002- Winter, Summer, Fall; 2003; 200​4-​ Winter, Spring) (catalog record).

Maps

• “Caldwell’s Illustrated historical combination atlas of Clarion Co.” Condit, Ohio : J.A. Caldwell, 1877. [F157 .C5 C147 ref ATLAS] (catalog record).
• “Clarion: Clarion County, Pennsylvania.” New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1915. [F157 .C52 C5 1915] (catalog record).
• “Caldwell’s Illustrated historical combination atlas of Clarion Co.” Clarion, PA : Clarion County Historical Society, 1982. [F157 .C5 C147 1982 ATLAS f] (catalog record).

Exhibit history

• Author: Eric Lidji
• Original: May 16, 2017
• Current: September 10, 2026

Acknowledgements

• This entry was made possible through a grant from the Frances F. and David R. Levin Charitable Foundation.