In 1882 the first Jewish agricultural colony in
Kansas was established when some 60 recently
arrived Jewish immigrants from Russia, sponsored
by the Hebrew Union Agricultural Society,
settled northeast of here along Pawnee Creek.
Named for the ancient city of Beersheba, the
colony stretched over several sections of land,
each family homesteading 150 acres. Dugouts
and sod houses were constructed for homes, a
synagogue, and school. Cow chips were used for
fuel. Wells were dug and the native prairie was
plowed and planted. Within the first few
months, a wedding took place, a baby was born,
and the first death occurred.
Farming proved to be unprofitable and severe
winters produced hardships. To supplement their
meager incomes, colonists sold their equipment and
livestock, took jobs with the railroad, mortgaged
their land, and established businesses in nearby
Ravanna and Eminence. As the two towns died out in
the 1890s after a bitter county seat battle lost
by both towns, the colonists sold or abandoned their
homesteads. A decade after the colony was established,
none of the colonists remained and the land reverted
to prairie.
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