We’re honored that the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery has been featured in a detailed article by Paul Jablow of The Philadelphia Inquirer, highlighting the ongoing community-led effort to restore and preserve this historic Jewish cemetery in Gladwyne, PA.
Since 2015, volunteers from Beth David Reform Congregation, local schools, and the broader community have worked together to reclaim the site from decades of neglect. The article sheds light on the cemetery’s deep history, the significance of Jewish burial traditions, and the inspiring commitment of individuals who believe in honoring every life buried here.
| Read the full story: After decades of neglect, volunteers work to save a historic Main Line Jewish cemetery (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
This feature helps amplify awareness of our mission and underscores the importance of Jewish cemetery preservation, historic restoration, and community service in Gladwyne. We invite you to read the article and learn more about the remarkable people behind this effort.
PIECING THE HISTORY
The little we have learned about Har Hasetim has been pieced together from fragments of information obtained here and there.
The land is on high ground over- looking the beautiful Mill Creek Valley and was once the property of (appropriately) the Greaves family. It lies north of Conshohocken State Road between Greaves Lane and Vaughan Lane.
The cemetery land was consecrated in 1890 and originally took in 20 acres. It has since been reduced to a plot 460 feet by 282 feet, containing slightly more than three acres.
Adjoining it on two sides is an additional parcel recorded in the name of the Independent Chevra Kadisha, originally reserved by a Jewish beneficial burial association for the interment of indigent Jews.
The graves are closely grouped in plot and the headstones are almost hidden from sight by dense underbrush and tangled thickets. Many of the stones have been toppled , their bases and some have been fragmented. One common form of Vandalism is the desecration of cemeteries in any category”(Main Line Chronicle, 11/11/65).
Synopsis:
Once long-neglected and threatened by development, the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery is now the focus of a major restoration effort led by Beth David Reform Congregation and its affiliated group, the Friends of the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery. Dating back to the 1890s, the cemetery had fallen into disrepair after its last burial in 1945 and a failed attempt in the 1980s to sell the land for development. Legal challenges eventually transferred oversight to the synagogue in 1999.
The current initiative aims to preserve the cemetery’s natural setting while restoring graves and honoring the stories of the estimated 1,000 individuals buried there—many of them poor Jewish immigrants. Plans include historical research, digital mapping, and the creation of contemplative spaces. With an estimated $1 million needed for the transformation, supporters see the project not only as a preservation effort but also as a meaningful way to tell the story of Jewish immigration and community legacy.
By Steve Feldman, Jewish Exponent, 2/11/99
Synopsis:
“To the delight of the community, the remains of’ perhaps thousands of Jews buried at a defunct Jewish cemetery in Gladwyne will not be disinterred for the development of luxury homes.
Instead, the owners of what has become known as “the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery” have reportedly reached an agreement with representatives of’ the descendants of those buried there, community groups and neighboring Beth David Reform Congregation to turn the cemetery over to Beth David.
Litigation since 1988
The fate of Har Hazaism Cemetery — one of the names the Gladwyne cemetery has been known by — has been the subject of a bitter dispute and litigation since 1988. Questions pertained to who actually owned the cemetery, whether that person or persons had a right to sell it, and whether those protesting the disinterment and development had standing to object.”
Synopsis:
“When Louis Borow, a bookbinder from Minsk, settled in Philadelphia in the 1890’s, his first concern was making a living for himself and his family in the new country. His second concern was providing for his death. In 1901 Borow died of typhoid fever in Philadelphia Municipal Hospital and was buried, as he had foresightedly arranged, with proper ceremony among fellow Jews in the cemetery Har Hasitim—in Gladwyne.
Hundreds of orthodox men, women, and children were buried in Har Hasitim in the years around the turn of the century. During the smallpox epidemic of 1901, more than 30 victims were interred within a three-month period. A child 14 months old lies a few rows from a woman who had seen her hundredth year. Louis Borow, the bookbinder from Minsk, has a final resting place not far from Herschl and Sara Leah Adelman, whose daughter Rose married Borow’s son.
By 1910 burials at Har Hasitim were diminishing. The topography of the site was not practical and other Jewish cemeteries were being established in more accessible areas with much more room for expansion. But the decline of Har Hasitim is most directly attributable to the decline of the chevra kaddisha itself. As immigrant Jews became more secure in the new land, they became more affluent and more interested in providing their own family burial sites in the larger, newer Jewish cemeteries. Children of immigrants frequently associated the beneficial societies with “greenhorns” or with poverty, so they looked to more modern memorial gardens for their families’ final resting places, and the new cemeteries could offer a very appealing concept—perpetual care.”
“PIECING THE HISTORY
The little we have learned about Her Hasetim has been pieced together from fragments of information obtained here and there.
The land is on high ground over- looking the beautiful Mill Creek Valley and was once the property of (appropriately) the Greaves family. It lies north of Conshohocken State Road between Greaves Lane and Vaughan Lane.
The cemetery land was consecrated in 1890 and originally took in 20 acres. It has since been reduced to a plot 460 feet by 282 feet, containing slightly more than three acres.
Adjoining it on two sides is an additional parcel recorded in the name of the Independent Chevra Kadisha, originally reserved by a Jewish beneficial burial association for the interment of indigent Jews.
The graves are closely grouped in plot and the headstones are almost hidden from sight by dense underbrush and tangled thickets. Many of the stones have been toppled , their bases and some have been fragmented. One common form of Vandalism is the desecration of cemeteries in any category”(Main Line Chronicle, 11/11/65).
By Steve Feldman
Jewish Exponent, February 11, 1999
Synopsis
“To the delight of the community, the remains of’ perhaps thousands of Jews buried at a defunct Jewish cemetery in Gladwyne will not be disinterred for the development of luxury homes.
Instead, the owners of what has become known as “the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery” have reportedly reached an agreement with representatives of’ the descendants of those buried there, community groups and neighboring Beth David Reform Congregation to turn the cemetery over to Beth David.
Litigation since 1988
The fate of Har Hazaism Cemetery — one of the names the Gladwyne cemetery has been known by — has been the subject of a bitter dispute and litigation since 1988. Questions pertained to who actually owned the cemetery, whether that person or persons had a right to sell it, and whether those protesting the disinterment and development had standing to object.”(Jewish Exponent, 2/11/99)
Synopsis
“To the delight of the community, the remains of’ perhaps thousands of Jews buried at a defunct Jewish cemetery in Gladwyne will not be disinterred for the development of luxury homes.
Instead, the owners of what has become known as “the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery” have reportedly reached an agreement with representatives of’ the descendants of those buried there, community groups and neighboring Beth David Reform Congregation to turn the cemetery over to Beth David.
Litigation since 1988
The fate of Har Hazaism Cemetery — one of the names the Gladwyne cemetery has been known by — has been the subject of a bitter dispute and litigation since 1988. Questions pertained to who actually owned the cemetery, whether that person or persons had a right to sell it, and whether those protesting the disinterment and development had standing to object.”(Jewish Exponent, 2/11/99)
by Judy Zalesne
Main Line Jewish Expressions, February 9, 1978
Synopsis
“When Louis Borow, a bookbinder from Minsk, settled in Philadelphia in the 1890’s, his first concern was making a living for himself and his family in the new country. His second concern was providing for his death. In 1901 Borow died of typhoid fever in Philadelphia Municipal Hospital and was buried, as he had foresightedly arranged, with proper ceremony among fellow Jews in the cemetery Har Hasitim—in Gladwyne.
Hundreds of orthodox men, women, and children were buried in Har Hasitim in the years around the turn of the century. During the smallpox epidemic of 1901, more than 30 victims were interred within a three-month period. A child 14 months old lies a few rows from a woman who had seen her hundredth year. Louis Borow, the bookbinder from Minsk, has a final resting place not far from Herschl and Sara Leah Adelman, whose daughter Rose married Borow’s son.
By 1910 burials at Har Hasitim were diminishing. The topography of the site was not practical and other Jewish cemeteries were being established in more accessible areas with much more room for expansion. But the decline of Har Hasitim is most directly attributable to the decline of the chevra kaddisha itself. As immigrant Jews became more secure in the new land, they became more affluent and more interested in providing their own family burial sites in the larger, newer Jewish cemeteries. Children of immigrants frequently associated the beneficial societies with “greenhorns” or with poverty, so they looked to more modern memorial gardens for their families’ final resting places, and the new cemeteries could offer a very appealing concept—perpetual care.”(Main Line Jewish Expressions, 2/9/78)
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