In October of 2009, our Temple will be celebrating 100 years of official charter in the Reform movement. We are searching for former members  or family members with memorbelia to put into a powerpoint presentation.  Please email the webmaster for further information.

    Welcome to Parkersburg, West Virginia located at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Little Kanawha River.  We are twelve miles south of Marietta, Ohio founded in 1788, the home of Marietta College, a well known and established liberal arts school.  We are approximately two hours southwest of Pittsburgh, 2 1/2 hours south of Columbus, Ohio, 3 1/2 hours west of Cincinnati, Ohio and one hour north of Charleston, WEST Virginia.   Temple Bnai Israel serves the Jewish community in the mid-Ohio Valley: Parkersburg, WV, Marietta, OH, Belpre, OH, and surrounding areas. 

   Established in the mid 1800's, Parkersburg had a thriving Jewish community at the time that the first oil wells were drilled in Burning Springs, West Virginia. Parkersburg had a YMHA organized in 1869 which is the first record we have of a Jewish organization in the area.  It served as the first location for services and also provided rooms for the needy Jews to stay while traveling through the area.  After the YMHA ceased operations, a Hebrew Aid Society functioned for many years to help the poor.  In 1888 the Progress Club was organized and Court records show that a charter was granted on July 20, 1891.  The charter was for 1000 years!  The club existed for over twenty years and was located on Juliana Street.  Religious services were held there conducted by a Moses A. Kuder with rabbis coming in for weddings and funerals.

   Our community thrived along side the Marietta orthodox community until the late 1970's when local chemical plants began to downsize.  Now we are the only Jewish community in the Mid-Ohio Valley within a 50 mile radius.  

   At present, we are serviced by a student rabbi from Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati Campus.  We offer monthly services, lay services, High Holy Day services, and Passover Seders as well as various social gatherings. 

    Parkersburg has beautiful old historical homes at extremely reasonable real estate costs.  We encourage those looking to get away from the rush of the big city to stop by for a visit.  We are always happy to welcome new members to our community.