Old Jewish Cemetery, Cincinnati

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the oldest Jewish cemetery west of the Allegheny Mountains. Opened in 1821, it is located just northwest of Downtown Cincinnati in the Betts-Longworth Historic District. It is situated just west of Central Avenue on the north side of Chestnut Street, in the historic West End. The Cemetery is sited on a tiny plot enclosed by high walls and a locked gate. In 1821, when Benjamin Lieb (first death in the community) was dying, he begged to be buried as a Jew. Morris Moses and Joseph Jonas, two of Cincinnati's six Jews, purchased the lot for Cincinnati's first Jewish cemetery from Nicholas Longworth for $75.00, and then buried Lieb there. The Cemetery has 85 graves and has been closed since 1849...