History
Jewish farm settlement comes to life
Museum marks the opening of exhibit on community with Hanukkah party
When Dustin Linz, the Howard County Historical Society's museum manager, was handed a file and asked to prepare for a group of Jewish visitors, he never thought his research would turn into a new exhibit at the museum and inspire his future graduate thesis.
“It was just a folder of old, random clippings,” Linz recalled. “When I did the research ... I found a lot of information that really floored me.”
Linz learned that in the early 1900s, a small group of Russian Jewish immigrants settled along the Patapsco River in Howard County in a settlement they called Yazoor. The group's goal was to become self-sufficient by growing their own food and speaking only Yiddish. It lasted until 1935.
“The immigrants were not skilled at agriculture work and they had to hire farmers, who didn't speak Yiddish,” Linz said. “The subsequent generations ... had no interest in carrying on the dreams of their parents. I didn't know it existed.”
This month the society celebrated the opening of Linz's exhibit about Yazoor and Ellicott City's Jewish merchants with its first Hanukkah party. The exhibit is now part of the museum's permanent collection.
“One of the missions I've focused on is diversity,” said Shawn Gladden, executive director at the society for the last four years. “It's a small exhibit but it does tell part of a story. Really, not a lot of people know about” Yazoor.
“I just thought it would be nice to give some recognition to the different demographics,” Linz said.
With the help of an intern, Linz gathered what information he could find about Yazoor, to create the museum exhibit.
“A lot of people are familiar with the Main Street merchants like Caplan's and Taylor,” Linz said. “I have yet to meet anyone who knew of Yazoor.”
Rabbi Susan Grossman, of Beth Shalom in Columbia, has not seen the new exhibit, but admitted she had not heard of Yazoor.
“It's very exciting to learn about it,” Grossman said. “It was a very different time then. They were probably thinking of their security ... and the ability to be themselves.”
Today, the Jewish population takes an active part in the community, Grossman said.
“We are committed to participating fully in the diversity of Howard County,” Grossman said. “We are faced with difficult times, anti-Semitism and rising racism. We have our work cut out for us to ensure Howard County remains a warm and welcoming place not only for Jews, but all minorities.”
At the Hanukkah party, Linz gave a brief talk about the exhibit.
The event included live music by the Columbia Jewish Congregation Klezmer Band, food and dancing.
Linz plans to add to the exhibit as he performs more research about the families who originally owned properties in Yazoor. His research inspired him to do his graduate thesis on Jewish agricultural resources at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Linz also hopes to host other Jewish events at the museum.
“I hope to have parties for other Jewish holidays in the future like Purim,” Linz said. “Hopefully, we're gathering momentum to do future events.”