History of the Jews in the American West

[2] Following the California Gold Rush of 1849, Jews established themselves prominently on the West Coast, with important settlements in Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and especially San Francisco, which became the second-largest Jewish city in the nation.

[3] Eisenberg, Kahn, and Toll (2009) emphasize the creative freedom Jews found in western society, unburdening them from past traditions and opening up new opportunities for entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and civic leadership.

[4] Numerous entrepreneurs opened shop in large cities like San Francisco to service the mining industry, as well as in smaller communities like Deadwood, South Dakota and Bisbee, Arizona, which sprung up throughout the resource-rich West.

For example, Levi Strauss (1829 – 1902) started as a wholesale dealer in with clothing, bedding, and notions; by 1873 he introduced the first blue jeans, an immediate hit for miners, and later, informal urban wear.

Though many Jewish immigrants to the West found success as merchants, others worked as bankers, miners, freighters, ranchers, and farmers.

[10] From 1866 to 1926, Congregation Emanu-El's synagogue was on Sutter Street, it was grand in scale and had twin octagonal towers topped by bronze-plated domes.

[12] Jacob Goldsmith and Lewis May were the earliest Jews settling in Portland, Oregon; in 1849 the two German-born immigrants established a general store in the city.

Adolph Sutro, a Jewish tradesman from Prussia, ran as the "Anti-Octopus" candidate and served one term as the Mayor of San Francisco in 1895 to 1897.