Early History

Learn about the history of the Chesterfield-Salem-Oakdale Jewish community and the New England Hebrew Farmers of the Emanuel Society.

NEHFES Today

Learn about NEHFES today and how you can join our efforts to preserve our historic site and legacy.

Timeline

View the NEHFES timeline, including historic newspaper articles, photos and documents from the Chesterfield-Salem-Oakdale Jewish community.

Virtual Tour

Take our interactive tour of the NEHFES historic site, including the stone remains of the synagogue, mikveh, and creamery.

Photo Archives

View our online photo albums of early Jewish Chesterfield sites and family members, along with more recent photos of those historic sites today.

Document Archives

View our digital collection of documents related to NEHFES and the Chesterfield Jewish community.

News...

Annual NEHFES Membership Meeting – June 9, 2019

Andrew Stout, Northeastern Regional Director for The Archaeological Conservancy, or TAC, will be our featured speaker at the NEHFES Annual membership meeting on Sunday, June 9, 2019, at 1:00 PM at the Chesterfield Firehouse. Andy’s presentation topic will be “Acquiring and Managing America’s Archaeological Treasures.”

Rabbi Aaron D. Panken, 1964-2018

The NY Times has reported the death of Dr. Aaron D. Panken, president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute, in a private plane crash 70 miles northwest of NYC. “A distinguished rabbi and scholar, dedicated teacher and exemplary leader of the Reform Movement in American for nearly three decades,” Rabbi…
Read more

Welcome Letter from Our President, Nancy R. Savin

Hello and welcome to our NEHFES website! We are delighted that you found us and invite to you to stay a while! NEHFES had a great 125th Anniversary last June 11, 2017 roughly 125 years from May 6, 1892, the day the New England Hebrew Farmers dedicated Connecticut’s first rural…
Read more

Annual NEHFES Membership Meeting – June 10, 2018

Please join us for the Annual NEHFES Membership Meeting on Sunday, June 10, 2018, at the Chesterfield Firehouse. The membership meeting will begin at 1:00, followed by a public presentation beginning at 3:00. The featured speaker at the 3:00 public presentation will be Miriam Leberstein, the Yiddishist who translated our NEHFES…
Read more

NEHFES Minutes and Ledger Book Available Online

NEHFES President Nancy Savin is thrilled to announce that the NEHFES Minutes and Ledger Book (1892 – 1933) has been added to the Yiddish Book Center’s Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library. This document comprises the (scanned) facsimile of the MLB together with explanatory information, translator Miriam Leberstein’s intro and her…
Read more

NEHFES Featured in Public Television Documentary, “Harvesting Stones”

Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network recently aired “Harvesting Stones,” a documentary about the early Jewish farmers of Eastern Connecticut. The documentary, originally shown on May 25 and rebroadcast on May 29, includes footage of the NEHFES site taken during the excavation in 2012, photos about NEHFES, and an interview with NEHFES president Nancy…
Read more

Connecticut State
Archaeological Preserve

National Register of
Historic Places