A practically pristine Jewish ritual bath, or “mikveh,” possibly dating back to the late 19thcentury in this tiny rural community is a one-of-a-kind discovery that will reshape our understanding of a fascinating but often-overlooked part of Jewish life in America, according to University of Connecticut researchers who excavated the site.
A mikveh is an essential part of married life in traditionally observant Jewish households, and this stone and wood-lined structure from Old Chesterfield may be the only mikveh excavated outside a major North American city and may be the only example of its kind at one of the settlements created by a wealthy philanthropist who in the 1890s established farming communities for Jewish immigrants in New Jersey and Connecticut. Read more here