Sons of Israel Cemetery

A parcel of land at 111 Evergreen Avenue was designated as the Sons of Israel Cemetery in 1911, more than 70 years after the first Jewish burial at the site. 

According to the 1926 Jacksonville Jewish Yearbook, there had been a record of a tombstone on the property with this epitaph in Hebrew: "Here rests Gershom ben Yosef who was killed by the Indians in 5601 (1840)."

By the early 1900s, several Eastern European Jewish families settled in St. Augustine, and in 1908 they formed the First Congregation Sons of Israel, holding services in their homes. In 1911, they chose this parcel of land to be the Sons of Israel Cemetery, largely because of this one grave from 1840. In 1924 the congregation began services in their newly-built synagogue on Cordova Street.

The cemetery is still in use, though not often open to the public. Looking through the gate or over the wall, visitors can see rows of gravestones, with inscriptions in Hebrew and English, many of the older ones under the shade of large palm and oak trees.

Occasionally, the gates are open to visitors and the cemetery hosts historic tours.