The Historical Society of Kent County is preparing to open an exhibit that shines a light on a little-known chapter of local history: the Jewish families who settled, worked, and built community here. The show, opening Friday, October 3, will launch with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bordley Center on High Street, coinciding with First Friday festivities.
The project began when Director of KSKCMaria Wood received exhibit panels from the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Though not Kent-specific, they sparked the idea of exploring local Jewish history. Soon after, she teamed up with Roberta Hantgan of the Chestertown Havurah, who helped connect with descendants and gather artifacts.
The Havurah itself traces its roots to both family efforts and interfaith support. Reverend Gregory Straub of Emmanuel Episcopal Church encouraged the community to organize more formally, even opening his church for Jewish High Holiday services. “He became a great advocate,” Hantgan said. “People even nicknamed the church ‘Temple Emmanuel’ for those occasions.”
Many families arrived through Baltimore in the late 1800s, starting as peddlers before establishing stores, butcher shops, and auction houses in Galena, Chestertown, and Millington. “They were absorbed into county life while maintaining Jewish traditions,” Wood said.
Artifacts include photographs, marriage certificates, advertisements, and family heirlooms.
Others established butcher shops, general stores, and auction houses. Families like the Rudnicks, Bonnets, and Cohens became well-known in communities from Galena to Chestertown and Millington. “Frank Rudnick and his wife were great contributors and helped establish the Havurah, which is still thriving today with about 70 members,” Hantgan said.
Their research revealed businesses, traditions, and family ties that extended back into the late 1800s, when most families came through Baltimore. “A lot of them started as peddlers,” Wood noted, describing how a wholesaler like Jacob Epstein might outfit an immigrant with goods and send him into rural Maryland. One such peddler, Samuel Cohen, eventually settled near Tolchester and opened a country store.
The opening weekend features two special events:
- Saturday, October 4, 2 p.m. at Emmanuel Church: Pianist Susan Hollins performs Jewish Composers of the Immigration Era with guest Nevin Dawson.
- Sunday, October 5, 2 p.m. at Kent Cultural Alliance: A panel discussion with family descendants and Jewish Museum of Maryland director Saul Davis.
Both events are free and open to the public, with refreshments provided by the Havurah.
“Every time I mention this project, people are surprised,” Wood said. “This exhibit shows there’s a deeper Jewish history in Kent County than most realize.”
In a recent conversation with The Spy, Maria Wood and Roberta Hantgan talked about the project, the discoveries they’ve made, and why the story matters.
For more about the Historical Society of Kent County, go here.
This video is approximately nine minutes in length.
6 Responses
Don’t forget the Dorfs, the Foxs and Ben Heller. They were a large part of Chstertown during the 1930s ’40s ’50s and ’60s.
Mackey Dutton
You can speak about them if you come to the events. We didn’t pretend to do an exhaustive search of all the small group of families. We focused on this cluster, most of whom had connections to each other and where we mostly had access to living relatives. It’s a taste.
This is going to be so great! Recently I heard a native Kent Countian say that they were so isolated that they had little cultural diversity. This exhibit will enlighten the community. So proud of Roberta’s hard work and so glad Ronnie was the inspiration!
Interesting. thorough presentation. Wish I lived closer so I could visit the exhiit.
Also my family – grandparents
Harry and Sophie Gordon and 7 children.
My mom graduated from Chestertown high school.
Grandfather Harry was a blacksmith and then scrap iron business . They moved to Dover Delaware at some point.
We have ancestors in Kent County in 1860’s, last name Marcuse. We are looking for more information about them.