Synagogues may be considered "oldest" based on different criteria such as oldest surviving building or oldest congregation. Some older synagogue buildings have been in continuous use as synagogues, while others have been converted to other purposes, and a few, such as the Touro Synagogue, were shuttered for many decades. Some early established congregations have been in continuous existence, while other early congregations have ceased to exist.

Oldest congregations

Sephardi congregations

All of the oldest congregations in the new world were founded by Sephardi Jews and followed the Sephardic liturgy.

Congregation Shearith Israel, founded in 1654, in New York City, is the oldest congregation in the United States. Its present building dates from 1896–97. Congregation Jeshuat Israel, founded circa 1658, in Newport, Rhode Island, is dated to sometime after the arrival of Jews in 1658 and prior to the 1677 purchase of a communal cemetery, now known as Touro Cemetery. In much of the nineteenth century, no Jews lived in Newport, and the ownership of the building and synagogue were entrusted to Congregation Shearith Israel. The building was reopened for the use of Ashkenazi Jews in 1883. Congregation Mickve Israel of Savannah, Georgia, was organized in 1733.Sarna, Jonathan. American Judaism. Yale University Press, 2004. p. 19. Congregation Mikveh Israel of Philadelphia was organized in the 1740s. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, Charleston, South Carolina, was founded in the 1740s. Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome, Richmond, Virginia, was founded in 1789. In 1898, it merged with Congregation Beth Ahabah, which was founded in 1841. The St. Thomas Synagogue in the United States Virgin Islands was founded in 1796. Nefutzoth Yehudah (Congregation Dispersed of Judah) in New Orleans, Louisiana, was founded in 1846. In 1881, it merged with the Ashkenazic congregation Shanarai-Chasset (Congregation Gates of Mercy) to form Touro Synagogue. The congregation joined the Reform movement in 1891."Our History". Touro Synagogue.

Ashkenazi congregations

Until 1795, all documented congregations in the United States followed the Sephardic minhag. However, many included Ashkenazi members as well.

There are a few references to an Ashkenazi Beth Elohim in Charleston prior to 1791, although this may have been a subgroup within the Sephardic Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim rather than a fully independent congregationSarna, Jonathan. American Judaism. Yale University Press, 2004. pp. 18ff, 56ff. The first Ashkenazic rite synagogue in the US was founded in 1761 in Easton, Pennsylvania. Congregation Rodeph Shalom (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), founded in 1795, is usually considered the oldest existing Ashkenazi congregation in the United States. K.K. Bene Israel in Cincinnati, Ohio, now known as the Rockdale Temple (1824) is the oldest congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains. B'nai Jeshurun in New York City, was founded in 1825. Shanarai-Chasset (Congregation Gates of Mercy) in New Orleans, Louisiana, was founded in 1828. In 1881, it merged with the Sephardic Nefutzoth Yehudah (Congregation Dispersed of Judah) to form Touro Synagogue in New Orleans. The congregation joined the Reform movement in 1891.

Oldest existing buildings

This list includes only buildings originally built as synagogues that are still standing. Some continue in use as Jewish houses of worship; others have been adaptively reused. Fewer than 100 purpose-built synagogues constructed prior to 1900 remain standing.Gordon, Mark W., Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues. American Jewish History, 84.1, 1996, p. 11–27. 2019 article update. A portion of these are highlighted below.

Touro Synagogue, Newport, Rhode Island (1759–63) St. Thomas Synagogue, United States Virgin Islands (1833) Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, Charleston, South Carolina (1840–41) Congregation Mishkan Israel, Hamden, Connecticut (1840) Lloyd Street Synagogue, Baltimore, Maryland (1845) Angel Orensanz Center, New York, New York (1849–50) Congregation Rodeph Sholom, New York, New York, now Congregation Chasam Sopher (1853) Congregation Beth Israel (Honesdale, Pennsylvania) (1856) Sherith Israel Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio) (1860) Shaare Tefilah (Gates of Prayer), New Orleans, Louisiana (1860–65) Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Madison, Wisconsin (1863) Congregation Talmud Torah Adereth El, New York, NY (1864) Plum Street Temple, Cincinnati, Ohio (1865–66) B'er Chayim Temple, Cumberland, Maryland (1865–67) Temple Israel (Lafayette, Indiana) (1867) Congregation of B'nai Israel Synagogue, Augusta, Georgia (1869) B'nai Sholom Temple, Quincy, Illinois (1869–70) Congregation Berith Sholom, Troy, New York (1870) Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston, Texas (1870) Central Synagogue, New York, New York (1870–72) Congregation Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut) (1875–76) Temple of Israel (Wilmington, North Carolina) (1875–76) B'nai Israel Synagogue (Baltimore, Maryland) (1876) Union Temple, Brooklyn, New York (1876) Adas Israel Congregation, Washington, D.C. (now Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum) (1876) Congregation Mickve Israel, Savannah, Georgia (1876–78) Temple Adath Israel (Owensboro, Kentucky) (1877) Congregation Beth Israel (Charlottesville, Virginia) (1882) Congregation Adas Emuno, Hoboken, New Jersey (1883) Temple Beth El, Jefferson City, Missouri (1883) Prince Street Synagogue, Newark, New Jersey (1884) Temple Israel, Leadville, Colorado (1884) Ohavi Zedek, Burlington, Vermont (1885) Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany, New York (1887–89) Temple Aaron, Trinidad, Colorado (1888–89) Temple Beth Sholom (San Leandro, California) (1889) Congregation Beth Israel (San Diego, California) (1889) Moses Montefiore Congregation, Bloomington, Illinois (1889) Ahavas Sholem, Ligonier, Indiana (1889) Tifereth Israel, Alliance Colony, New Jersey (1889) Temple Beth Tefilloh (Brunswick, Georgia) (1889–90) B'nai Israel Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah (1890–91) Shaarai Shomayim (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) (1895–96) Ahavath Beth Israel, Boise, Idaho (1895–96)Stolzman, Henry; Stolzman, Daniel Synagogue Architecture in America: Faith, Spirit & Identity. The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd. 2004. Rosenhayn Synagogue, Rosenhayn, New Jersey (c.1898) Temple B'nai Sholom (Huntsville, Alabama) (1898–99)

By state

Alabama

Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim, located in Mobile, the oldest congregation in Alabama, was formally organized on January 25, 1844. Their first synagogue was Emanuel Street Synagogue, dedicated on December 27, 1846. The current Springhill Avenue Temple is their fifth location."Shaarai Shomayim (Gates of Heaven)". Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.

Alaska

Congregation Beth Sholom was first organized on September 5, 1958, in Anchorage."About Us". Congregation Beth Sholom. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011.

Arizona

Emanu-El dedicated the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory on October 3, 1910, in Tucson. The congregation stopped holding services there in 1949. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and currently houses the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest."Stone Avenue Temple: Tucson AZ ". Jewish Postcards. National Museum of American Jewish History.

Arkansas

Congregation B'nai Israel was founded in Little Rock in 1866.Adler, Cyrus; Currick, M. C. "Arkansas". Jewish Encyclopedia. 1906.'Arkansas Jewish History". Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.

California

Temple Israel (Stockton, California), founded 1851. Congregation has been in continuous existence, housed in four different locations over time. The two next oldest congregations in California are Emanu-El and Sherith Israel in San Francisco. Both were founded in 1851. The two synagogues were founded simultaneously because the city's Jews could not agree on whether to follow the prayer customs of the Polish or German Jews. Emanu-El was therefore founded as the congregation of the German Jews and Sherith Israel as the congregation of the Polish Jews.Sarna, Jonathan. American Judaism. Yale University Press, 2004. p. 73 Congregation B'nai Israel (Sacramento, California) is the oldest congregation in Sacramento, California, tracing its history back to September 2, 1852,Panneton, Judie. "History – How Beautiful is Our Heritage: 160 years and Still Going Strong". Congregation B'nai Israel. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. making it the first synagogue owned by a congregation west of the Mississippi River. Temple Emanu-El (San Jose, California), founded in 1861, oldest Jewish congregation south of San Francisco. Temple Sinai (Oakland, California), founded in 1875, oldest Jewish congregation in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area). Congregation Beth Israel (San Diego, California)'s 1889 building is the second oldest extant synagogue in California. Temple Beth Sholom (San Leandro, California)'s 1889 building is the oldest extant synagogue in California.

Colorado

Temple Aaron in Trinidad, Colorado, built in 1889. Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colorado, built in 1900, is the city's oldest synagogue, according to the synagogue itself. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Temple Israel, Leadville, Colorado's 1884 building was restored as a synagogue and Jewish pioneer museum in 2008. The original congregation dissolved before 1914. The Hebrew Cemetery was established in 1880.

Connecticut

Congregation Mishkan Israel (Hamden, Connecticut) was founded in 1840 in New Haven. Mishkan Israel and Congregation Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut) were both incorporated in 1843, the year the Connecticut legislature first permitted public worship by Jews in the state.Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook, Greenwood Press. June 30, 1996. pp. 76–80. Temple Beth Israel (Hartford, Connecticut)'s 1875–76 building is the oldest in the state.

Delaware

Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth in Wilmington, Delaware, is the oldest congregation in the state. It was formed from the merger in 1957 of the Orthodox Adas Kodesch Congregation, which was established in 1885, and the Chesed Shel Emeth Congregation. It is usually referred to simply as Adas Kodesch and is billed as "The First Synagogue in the First State"."Ohabe Shalom – Lovers of Peace". Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.

District of Columbia

Washington Hebrew Congregation, congregation founded in 1852."Illustrated History of 1876 Synagogue". Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum. Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington. Adas Israel Congregation's original building, now known as the Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum, was built in 1876, after the congregation split from Washington Hebrew Congregation over the issue of organ music during services. Originally located at 6th and G Streets, the dedication was attended by President Ulysses S. Grant on June 9, 1876. The building has been relocated several times due to redevelopment and now sits at 3rd and F Streets NW.

Florida

Ahavath Chesed in Jacksonville and Temple Beth-El in Pensacola both have claims to being the oldest Jewish congregation in Florida. The Jacksonville congregation was meeting for prayer by 1867, but appears to have incorporated later than Pensacola which dedicated its first building in 1876, well before Jacksonville's 1882 building. The current synagogue building in Pensacola opened in 1933."Pensacola, Florida". Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. The United Hebrews of Ocala building was built in 1888. It is the oldest Florida synagogue building still standing. It is now the Ocala Bible Chapel, a Christian congregation.