They found and hired Philip Black who "with great zeal and dedication began to build the spiritual life of the Jewish Community".
Families active in Jewish Community life in Peterborough around the turn of the last century onward included (but were certainly not limited to) Blacks, Florences, Lows, Swartzes, Sukoffs, Zacks, and Cherneys, Greens, and Fines.
Peterborough's Jewish population increased during World War II, and in 1945 the congregation moved to a larger centre on Reid Street that had formerly served as a Methodist Sunday School building.
The current building on Weller Street was constructed in 1964, and inaugurated with much celebration and fanfare, winning an architectural award for Eb Zeidler, who later went on to design Toronto's Eaton Centre and other major works.
The community has a strong, vibrant musical tradition, and offers welcoming, inclusive, participatory services for the High Holy Days.