On November 17, 1891, in Seattle, Chevra Bikur Cholim (Hebrew: Society for Visiting the Sick) incorporates with the purpose of caring for the sick and providing proper burial. This is the origin of the religious congregation Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath.
Previous to incorporation, in 1889, the group held Simchas Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah) services in Red Man’s Hall in downtown Seattle on 2nd Avenue and Seneca Street. The chevra purchased burial grounds at Oak Lake around 1890.
Sources:
Meta Buttnick, “Congregation Bikur-Cholim-Machzikay Hadath of Seattle: The Beginning Years,” Western States Jewish History Vol. 22, No. 2 (January 1990), 137-149; Golden Jubilee: 50 Year History (Seattle: Congregation Bikur Cholim, 1941); The Guide to Jewish Washington, (Seatttle: The Jewish Transcript, 1998).
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