Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
The Touro Synagogue National Historic Site is a national historic site in Newport, RI. This area is protected by the federal government for its historical significance.
Oldest active US synagogue opens RI visitor center
A new visitors center is opening at the oldest surviving synagogue in the United States.
Rhode Island's Touro Synagogue was dedicated in 1763 and maintains an active Orthodox Jewish congregation.
The synagogue on Sunday will open a $12 million visitors center focusing on the history of the building and on colonial Jewish history and culture.
The center's timeline starts in 1658, when 15 families of Sephardic Jews traveled to the bustling waterfront hub Newport. More than 100 years later, Rabbi Isaac Touro arrived from Amsterdam and became the congregation's first spiritual leader.
A highlight of the new visitors center is a 1790 letter from George Washington to the congregation. In it, he said the new American government "gives to bigotry no sanction."
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