| Building Name: | Congregation Knesseth Israel | ||||||||
| Native Name: | Hebrew: ק"ק כנסת ישראל | ||||||||
| Image Upright: | 1.4 | ||||||||
| Map Type: | Connecticut | ||||||||
| Map Size: | 250 | ||||||||
| Map Relief: | 1 | ||||||||
| Country: | United States | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | 41.8975°N -72.4797°W | ||||||||
| Religious Affiliation: | Modern Orthodox Judaism | ||||||||
| Rite: | Ashkenazi | ||||||||
| Consecration Year: | 1906 | ||||||||
| Status: | Synagogue | ||||||||
| Functional Status: | Active | ||||||||
| Architecture: | yes | ||||||||
| Architect: | Leon Dobkin | ||||||||
| Architecture Type: | Synagogue | ||||||||
| Architecture Style: | Colonial Revival | ||||||||
| Facade Direction: | East | ||||||||
| Established: | 1906 | ||||||||
| Year Completed: | 1913 | ||||||||
| Construction Cost: | $1,500 | ||||||||
| Specifications: | yes | ||||||||
| Length: | 30feet | ||||||||
| Width: | 40feet | ||||||||
| Materials: | Wood | ||||||||
| Module: |
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Congregation Knesseth Israel, also known as the Ellington Shul, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 236 Pinney Street in Ellington, Connecticut, in the United States.
The congregation was founded in 1906 by a group of Yiddish-speaking Jewish farmers from Russia and Eastern Europe.[1] Its building, dating to 1913, is a rare example of an early 20th-century rural synagogue in the state, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Knesseth Israel is located in what is now a rural-residential setting south of Ellington center, on the west side of Pinney Road (Connecticut Route 286) a short way north of its junction with Middle Road. It is a modest single-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a gabled portico. The portico is supported by square posts, and has a Star of David in the gable. The flanking windows consist of a lower pair of sashes, and an upper transom with paired round arches applied. The interior of the building consists of one large chamber, with a bema that appears slightly oversized due to the building's small size. Because it is a single-story building, the segregated worship area for women (normally located in a second-floor gallery) is on the south side of the main space, separated by a low divider.
The synagogue was built in 1913, and was originally located at the corner of Middle Rd. and Abbott Rd. in Ellington.[1] It was built in the Colonial Revival Style partly with funds from the philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch's Jewish Colonization Association.[2] In the 1954 the building was moved to its present location at 236 Pinney St. The building was designed by Leon Dobkin.[3] The building was one of fifteen Connecticut synagogues added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and 1996 in response to an unprecedented multiple submission, nominating nineteen synagogues.[4] [5]
In addition to the synagogue, the congregation maintains an Orthodox Jewish cemetery within the larger Ellington Cemetery.[6] [7]