Temple Beth-El (Corsicana, Texas)

Temple Beth-El
Former Temple Beth-El, now community center
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism (former)
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue (1898–1980) Community center (since 1990)
Ownership	City of Corsicana
Status	Closed; restored and repurposed
Location
Location	208 South Fifteenth Street, Corsicana, Texas
Country	United States
Location in Texas
Geographic coordinates	32°5′22″N 96°28′6″W / 32.08944°N 96.46833°W / 32.08944; -96.46833
Architecture
Style	Exotic Revival Moorish Revival
Date established	1871 (as a congregation)
Completed	1898 (1898)
Specifications
Dome(s)	Two
Materials	Clapboard
Website
cityofcorsicana.com/996/Temple-Beth-El
Temple Beth-El
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Texas State Antiquities Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Area	less than one acre
NRHP reference No.	86003687
TSAL No.	8200000741
RTHL No.	11642
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	February 3, 1987
Designated TSAL	January 1, 2000
Designated RTHL	1981
[1]

Temple Beth-El is an historic Reform Jewish former synagogue located at 208 South 15th Street in Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas, in the United States. Operating as a synagogue between 1898 and 1980, the exotic Moorish Revival-style building has been used as a community center since 1990.

Temple Beth-El became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1981. On February 3, 1987, Temple Beth-El was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Temple Beth-El is one of two State Antiquities Landmarks in Navarro County.

The Jewish community of Corsicana established a congregation in 1871.^[2][3] The congregation worshiped at each other's homes until it could raise the funding to build a synagogue.^[4]

Julius Magil served as rabbi in the early days of its new building. He was born December 29, 1870, at Mitau, Courland, which was then in the Russian Empire but is now part of Latvia. He received a secular education at Realgymnasium and University of Zürich, Switzerland. Rabbi Magil's religious training took place at the Talmudical College of Grobin, Courland. Rabbi Magil then studied medicine at Fort Wayne Medical College, and he received a Ph.D. from Rogers College in 1898.^[5]

The synagogue was built by a Reform Jewish congregation in 1898. It is a wood-frame building, with clapboard siding, keyhole windows in the front doors, and a pair of octagonal towers topped by onion domes. In 1900, 66% of the congregants were immigrants and over half were from Poland, Russia, or Hungary. 19% of the membership was from Germany and another 19% was from France. While Eastern European Jews tended towards Orthodox Judaism and German Jews tended towards Reform Judaism, Temple Beth-El was notable as a Reform synagogue with a predominantly Eastern European and heavily Polish membership.^[6]

Rabbi Ernest Joseph served as the spiritual leader of Temple Beth-El from 1968 to 1980.^[7]

In 1980, Temple Beth-El closed as a congregation, although a local rabbi still leads a Jewish service on a monthly basis.^[8] The property was donated to the City of Corsicana around 1990.^[8] The City uses it as a community center.^[9]

In 2010, the former synagogue's stained glass windows were renovated.^[4] The former synagogue's façade and domes were restored in 2013.^[8]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Navarro County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Navarro County

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Temple Beth-El (Corsicana, Texas).

• Official website. Published by the City of Corsicana.
• Davis, Robert P. (August 25, 1996). "Beth El, Corsicana, TX". Virtual Restoration of Small Town Synagogues. Texas. Archived from the original on October 24, 2002.