Washington State Jewish Historical Society

Archives

The Jewish Archives documents the history of Jewish communities in Washington State, beginning with the earliest settlers in 1853. The Archives consists of organizational records and personal papers, memoirs, correspondence, photographs, and over 300 taped and transcribed oral interviews with members of Jewish communities throughout the state. The holdings are preserved in a climate controlled, closed-access setting in Special Collections in the basement of Allen Library at the University of Washington.

The Jewish Archives was established in 1968 as a joint project of the Women's Division of the Jewish Federation and the Manuscripts section of the University of Washington Libraries. The University of Washington provides staff who administer the materials, as well as office space for our Archives Coordinator and a conference room for meetings of the Archives Committee.

In summer 2002, the King County Landmark and Heritage Commission funded a grant to the Washington State Jewish Historical Society and the University of Washington Library to catalog dozens of oral history interviews. Society volunteers and library staff edited and enhanced summaries of selected interviews for inconclusion in the Library's Online Catalog and in the International Bibliographic system, OCLC. This effort will inform prospective users of the rich content in oral history recorded from 1979 to the present.

Washington State Jewish Historical Society
2031 Third Avenue :: Seattle, WA 98121 :: (206) 774 2277