Touro Synagogue rose here in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1763. This is the only surviving synagogue building in the U.S. dating to the colonial era, and it is the oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States and North America. The building has been occupied by several different congregations over the years; the current occupant is known as Congregation Ahavath Israel (Hebrew: ק״ק אהבת ישראל).
Pause and imagine the faith and insistence that allowed a Sephardic first congregation, believed to have come from the West Indies, to maintain Spanish and Portuguese liturgy and customs here. The synagogue stands as a profound symbol of religious freedom, a cornerstone of Rhode Island’s founding principles under Roger Williams. In 1946, it was declared a National Historic Site, recognition of both its age and its meaning to the nation.
As you stand here, you are on ground that witnessed colonial life and the perseverance of a community keeping its traditions through centuries and changes. Let your attention travel across the façade you face and around the street and neighborhood that frame this small but powerful piece of American history.