A Lost Heritage: The Jewish History of Waco

Abstract

The agency and industry of Jewish Wacoans have gone largely unobserved as primary subjects by academic historians. This oversight needs to be corrected to preserve the integrity of the historical record of Waco. An inaccurate historical record of early Waco (lacking proportionate reference to Jewish contribution) cannot be allowed to usurp Jewish legacies, and the details of the city’s past cannot be permanently forgotten. By juxtaposing images captured by photographs from the past, next to my own modern recapturing of the same places and subjects, I intend to provide the viewer proof of the history that has gone unobserved. The focus of my work is on buildings, homes, and sacred places, presenting them as they exist (or do not) today. All the places captured feature sites and buildings that held an important role to the history of Waco. In many cases, the disparity is dramatic and leaves sections of the city unrecognizable.