Gomez Mill House, Oldest Jewish Site in North America, Approaches 300th Anniversary
NS.org – MARLBOBO, N.Y.—The oldest Jewish site in North America is not Newport’s famed Touro Synagogue, or any other synagogue. Rather, it is a stone structure tucked away on the west side of the Hudson River, about 60 miles north of Manhattan.
Due to its multiple uses and inhabitants over the centuries, the Gomez Mill House—built in 1714 in Marlboro, NY—is one of the best-kept secrets in American Jewish history, and also holds a unique place in greater American history. With its 300th anniversary approaching, its story may very well become familiar to a much broader audience.
“Most Jewish visitors [to the Gomez Mill House] are surprised that the story is not about the Jewish religion or about being Jewish, but about the story of Jewish pioneering success in American and Jewish contribution to the founding of America,” says Ruth Abrahams—executive director of the Gomez Foundation for Mill House, a group of historic-minded citizens and descendants of the families that have owned the property—in an exclusive interview with JNS.org that serves as the first public announcement of the house’s tercentenary celebrations.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/11/19/gomez-mill-house-oldest-jewish-site-in-north-america-approaches-300th-anniversary/
