Skip to main content
Menu Close Menu

Historic Columbia

Donate
  • FAQs
Upcoming Events

Navigation

  • Tours
    • House Tours
      • Robert Mills House and Gardens
      • Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens
      • Mann-Simons Site
      • The Museum of the Reconstruction Era
      • Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
      • Hours and Pricing
    • Garden Tours
      • Garden Database
    • Offsite Tours
      • Walking Tours
    • African American History Tours
    • Online Tours
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • House Tours
    • Traveling Trunk
    • Summer Camp
    • Adult Education
  • Preservation
    • Current Projects and Initiatives
      • Bull Street Campus 
      • Columbia's Green Book Sites
      • Veterans Administration Regional Office
      • Women’s Club of Columbia
    • Preservation Awards
    • Resources for the Public
      • For Property Owners
      • For Neighborhoods
      • Take Action!
    • LGBTQ Columbia
  • Support
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Partners and Donors
  • Rent a Venue
    • Gardens of the Hampton-Preston Mansion
    • Seibels House and Garden
    • Robert Mills Carriage House and Gardens
    • Gardens of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home
    • Weddings
    • Photoshoots
    • Recommended Vendors
    • Contact Us
  • About
    • Blog
    • Board Members
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Gift Shop at Robert Mills
      • Online Store
    • Local History
      • Columbia Jewish Heritage Initiative
    • Newsletter
    • Staff Directory

Donate

  1. Home
  2. Online Tours
  3. Columbia's Jewish Heritage Sites
  4. 500 Block of Main Street

500 Block of Main Street

519 Main Street

Site of Trager Family Residence

Russian immigrant Abraham Isaac Trager (1809-1913) moved to Columbia around 1861, where he was a patriarch of the Jewish community for almost forty years. He established a farm at this location, where he grew plants used during religious holidays and provided hospitality to fellow Jews and travelers of all faiths. Trager regularly officiated Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs, the ceremony marking a 13-year-old Jewish boy's acceptance of religious responsibility. A founder of the Tree of Life Congregation, he helped raise funds to erect the first synagogue built in Columbia since before the Civil War. Trager died in 1913 at age 104. 

  • Trager

    Abraham Trager. Reprinted fromThe Tree of Life: Fifty Years of Congregational Life at the Tree of Life Synagogue, Columbia, S.C by Helen Kohn Hennig.

  • The state September 23, 1892

    Announcement for the Jewish New Year celebrations, with services led by Abraham Trager and Philip Epstin (1836-1921), who would later become the first president of the Tree of Life Congregation. Reprinted from The State, September 23, 1892.

Directions:

    Previous931 Park Street

    Next1300 Whaley Street

    Newsletter Signup

    newsletter signup

    Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for events, news, and updates from Historic Columbia!

    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Flickr
    Historic Columbia

    © 2023 Historic Columbia

    Administrative Offices
    1601 Richland Street
    Columbia, SC 29201

    Tours
    All historic house and garden tours start at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills.
    1616 Blanding Street
    Columbia, SC 29201

    Questions? Call (803) 252-7742.

    Website by Cyberwoven