Temple Freda

Temple Freda was built in 1912 to serve the small Jewish community of Bryan, Texas. Construction of the temple became possible through the donations of the Jewish community and the non-Jewish citizens of Bryan. Hebrew synagogues were not numerous in Texas at this date, and Jews living within a radius of 100 miles came to Temple Freda to worship. The temple reflects the determination of a small Jewish group to build its own house of worship. It also represents the concern of the rest of the town who contributed to the construction of the building and took an interest in the activities that occurred there. The Classical Revival architecture of the Temple represents one of two prevailing fashions in the design of contemporaneous Texas synagogues.

Jews in East Texas were never numerous, but in places such as Bryan, they played an important role in their local communities. Jews tended to settle in larger towns and cities rather than rural areas and were particularly important as merchants. Thus many of the major department stores in Texas grew from early East Texas drygoods establishments. Unfortunately, because of the population shift from East Texas towns to major cities between the world wars, there are now few visible links with the early Jewish communities. Although a few early synagogues survive, such as the one at Corsicana, major ones, such as J. Reily Gordon's synagogue at Marshall, have been demolished.

Around 1865, Jewish merchants and their families entered the area around Bryan. Many of these people were immigrants whose birthplaces included Poland, Russia, England, and Prussia. The small group soon banded together and developed into a community. They organized a congregation in 1890 and met in the homes of members for services. Since there was not a temple close to their area, in 1912 they decided to construct their own.

The first concern was obtaining a tract of land for the building of the temple. One member of the congregation, Harry Marwill, noticed that his landlord, J.W. English, owned a vacant piece of land next to the I & GN Railroad (later the Missouri Pacific). Mr. English was willing to donate the land, which he had purchased in 1906 for $125.00. In the deed, Mr. English stated that the conveyance of the land to the Jewish community was intended as a gift, and stipulated that the land should only be used for religious and benevolent purposes. If the land were to be used in any other manner, the ownership of the property would revert to the English family.

With donations from the Jewish congregation, materials were bought and construction began. When the non-Jewish citizens of Bryan heard of the project, they contributed money and building materials such as brick, wood, and pipe. The temple was completed within the year. In February 1913 the congregation, along with other community members, celebrated the laying of the cornerstone. At its dedication, which was attended by rabbis from other Texas cities, the temple was named Temple Freda in memory of Mrs. Ethel Freda Kaczer, the recently deceased wife of the congregation's president. This was unusual, since very few temples were named for people, and one name for a woman was a great rarity.

The Classical Revival architecture of the Temple is of note for at least two reasons. First, this is one of the prime examples of a building with Beaux Arts influence in Brazos and the surrounding counties. Second, Texas synagogues of that period followed one of two general stylistic trends: (1) the exotic and often Moorish fashion, as found in J. Reily Gordon's now-razed synagogue at Marshall, Harrison County; (2) and the classical form, such as Temple Freda.

Temple Freda was given a 50-year charter by the state in September of 1912. It held worship services there on Friday nights, and school was provided on Sundays. Although several families regularly worshiped at the temple, it was always full on religious holidays. Around 1958 the Jewish community began worshiping at a center in the town of College Station, and the use of Temple Freda declined.

Christian congregations that had no meeting places were allowed to use the building. In this manner, the members of Temple Freda repaid the kindness earlier shown them when the temple was being built. Although the building is not in regular use today, it stands as a monument to the Bryan Jewish group and their efforts to provide a house of worship for their members. The survival of such a temple, with its complete furnishings, is rare in Texas.