Identifer: CJF.2009.001.166

Medium
Glass;Wood

Collection
University of Cincinnati Hillel Collection

Description
This stained glass door is from the Jewish Community Center, Flemington, New Jersey.

In the early 1900s, several Jewish families moved from Greater New York City to the Flemington area through the efforts of the Jewish Agricultural Society.  Fourteen years after the initial move, two young men moved into the community and became the 16th and 17th residents of Flemington's growing Jewish population.  A few years later, the "Hebrew Citizens Congregation of Hunterdon County" was incorporated.  This organization, together with the "Farm" group then met and formulated plans for the establishment of a Jewish Community Center in Flemington.  This new organization was officially launched on September 5, 1926.  The minutes and records of meetings during this era were kept in Yiddish.
Thereafter, meetings were held every month at various homes.  A building on Park Avenue (which now houses the Veterans of Foreign Wars) was purchased and remodeled in time for High Holy Day services.  In it, all religious and social functions of the congregation were held.  Services were conducted in traditional fashion.  Dues were $5 originally and later were raised to $7.50.  Part-time rabbis, cantors, teachers and shochtim were engaged to serve the congregation's needs.
                    By the early 1940s, membership had reached over 40 families.  The house on Park Avenue had become too small, and in 1943, a committee was appointed to search for a new building site.  However, while WWII overshadowed other concerns, efforts for a new building remained minimal.  After the war, renewed demand for a larger congregational home emerged, and construction of a new building commenced.  It was completed in 1947.  The Jewish Community Center served the Jews of Flemington for 25 years as a focal point for their religious affairs, Hebrew education, social and cultural activities.  The FJCC underwent further expansion in 1979.   A new sanctuary was added to the existing structure, and classrooms, offices and a nursery school were built.  The congregation now serves more than 200 member families.