Simon J. Friedman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simon J. Friedman | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 5, 1846 Germany |
| Died | 1917 (aged 70–71) Hailey, Idaho |
| Relatives | Simon M. Friedman, cousin |
Simon J. Friedman (1846–1917), also known as S.J. Friedman, was a leading merchant and the first Jewish pioneer in Hailey, Idaho.
Friedman was born in Germany to Jewish parents Itzig and Bertha (Usher) Friedman.[1] In 1869, at 23 years old, he immigrated to the United States in 1869 along with his cousin Simon M. Friedman. Originally named Simon Itzig Friedman, he misspelled his middle initial (“I”) as a “J” when emigrating to the United States and the new name (S.J.) stuck.
Like many of the merchants who became Hailey’s founding residents, S.J. spent several years in Salt Lake City and small towns in Utah before finding his way to the recently established Idaho Territory in spring 1881 after hearing about the silver and lead discoveries in the Wood River Valley.
Career
When Friedman arrived in Hailey in Spring 1881, the town had just been platted, so he set up a 20 by 40 foot tent and began selling dry goods, clothing, and boots. In fall 1881, he erected a permanent store in place of his tent.[1]
When Hailey was destroyed by fire on July 2, 1889, S.J. Friedman’s store was one of the only buildings to survive. His construction methods in 1881 had been uniquely fireproof, including his decision to cover the windows with steel shutters and to pack a foot of dirt underneath the building’s roof.[2] He remained trapped inside his store during the conflagration. According to the Wood River News-Miner, as Friedman watched the town burn around his store, he exclaimed “Shesus, see the old synagogue stand the test.”
After Friedman died in 1917, his family members continued to operate his store on Hailey’s Main Street.