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| Charles and Jennie Ostrov in their grocery in 1920 |
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| Grocery prices at Ostrov's Cash Grocery |
The discovery of iron ore in northeastern Minnesota in the late 19th century opened the floodgates for thousands of immigrants seeking employment in the newly opened mines. Amongst the earliest to arrive were Jewish settlers, many of who became merchants on main street catering to the needs of the miners and their families. Settling primarily in four communities: Chisholm, Eveleth, Hibbing and Virginia, the Jewish families lived in relative isolation from major Jewish centers.
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| Ben Walt in Walt's Clothing in 1925 |
As the economic viability of the Iron Range declined, so too did its population. By 1980, the Hibbing and Eveleth congregations had disbanded and their buildings sold. Only B’nai Abraham survives as physical evidence of the once vibrant Jewish community that existed on the Iron Range.
The history of the Jewish people who settled outside of the mainstream is being lost in the United States. With that loss goes all memory of those Jewish communities that once flourished in many of our nation’s small towns and rural areas. Minnesota is experiencing a similar loss with the disappearance of all evidence of the Jewish communities that once contributed so much to the magnificent cultural mosaic that once identified the Iron Range.
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