Sephardic Jews from the Caribbean, England and other colonies founded Congregation Mikveh Israel in 1740, seeking the religious freedom William Penn had promised, and it remains the oldest Jewish congregation in Philadelphia. Mikveh Israel — Hebrew for Hope of Israel — held its first formal services in a rented building and moved several times before establishing a permanent home. Its founding members included merchants and traders who played significant roles in Philadelphia commerce.
During the Revolutionary War, the congregation's members were among the strongest supporters of American independence, and Haym Salomon, a Polish-born Jewish merchant and financier who worshipped here, became one of the most important financial backers of the Revolution, raising or personally guaranteeing hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to the Continental government and foreign officers like Kosciuszko and von Steuben who served with Washington. Salomon refused to charge interest on many of his personal loans to the government and died nearly broke in 1785. His contributions to the Revolution were acknowledged by Congress decades after his death.
The congregation still holds services and maintains a small museum.