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[[Image:BethEl2.jpg|thumb|right|Former temple at 37 East [[Chase Street]]]] [[Image:TempleBethEl-FormerBuilding.jpg|thumb|right|180px|One of the former Beth-El locations]] The first Jews who migrated to northwest Florida originally stopped at [[Milton, Florida|Milton]], twenty miles to the east, because Milton was a national hub for lumber production and distribution in the South (the first Jews to the area were skilled in lumber production; they came from heavily wooded areas in what is now southern Germany). Sensing more business opportunities Other Jewish families lived in Pensacola, but fled during Union occupation in the [[Civil War]]. The population began to the westreturn in [[1865]], and in late [[1876]] ten Jewish families joined together to establish a [[Wikipedia:Reform Judaism|Reform]] congregation settled in Pensacola and built build a Reform temple in , located at 37 East [[Chase Street]] (near [[1876Jefferson Street|Jefferson]], which was granted a charter by the State of Florida in ). [[1878Gerson Forscheimer]] under was the Beth-El name, making it FloridaTemple's first formally recognized Jewish congregationpresident, and board members included [[S. M. Many of the lumber workers in Milton did not follow the congregationGoldbach]], [[Lewis Kahn]], [[Michael Levy]], [[Adolph Goldstrucker]], [[Morris Dannheiser]] and eventually started a smaller Jewish community in [[Okaloosa CountyJacob Kahn]] when lumber opportunities dried up. The male members of Beth-El's first congregation consisted largely of businessmen and tavern ownershad no rabbi, so Goldstrucker conducted services.

Temple Beth-El joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in [[1889]] and engaged its first Rabbi in [[1892]]Image:TempleBethEl-FormerBuilding. The original jpg|thumb|right|180px|Second temple, on at 37 East [[Chase Street]] at , looking southwest]] [[Jefferson Image:BethEl2.jpg|thumb|right|Chase Street|Jeffersontemple, looking southeast]], The Temple was destroyed granted a charter by fire the State of Florida in [[18951878]]under the Beth-El name, making it Florida's first formally recognized Jewish congregation. It was rebuilt Many of the lumber workers in Milton did not follow the congregation, and eventually started a smaller Jewish community in [[1898Okaloosa County]] on South when lumber opportunities dried up. Temple Beth-El joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in [[Palafox Street1889]]and engaged its first rabbi, but that building was also destroyed by fire in [[1929Adolph Rosenberg]]. The current synagogue, at 800 North Palafox Street, was built in [[19311892]] and reflects the Art Deco style popular at the time.

In [[1895]] the original wooden temple was burned by a fire of undetermined origin, sparing only a single scroll. A new two-story brick building was constructed on the same site and dedicated in April [[1896]]. That building remained home of the growing congregation, which by [[1929]] had 125 members, with 47 children enrolled in the Sabbath School. The Sisterhood of Temple Beth-El, which was organized in [[1919]] by [[Elsie Wagenheim]], had 106 members. On [[December 17]], 1929, another fire broke out. According to a newspaper account of the time, "The next morning saw the structure almost completely destroyed. The scrolls were ruined and had to be buried. From the Temple proper, the Ten Commandment Tablet above the Ark had been saved and the memorial table. The organ had been damaged but was salvageable." The temple was rebuilt at its current site atop [[Gage Hill]] at 800 North [[Palafox Street]] in [[1931]]. The building committee included chairman [[Max L. Bear]], [[Joseph M. Levy]], [[Dan S. Oppenheimer]] and Dr. [[Mozart A. Lischkoff]]. The three-story building's design had a seating capacity of 350 in the sanctuary and reflected the Art Deco style popular at the time. The cornerstone was laid on [[June 1]] (the sixteenth day of [[Wikipedia:Sivan|Sivan]], [[5691_(Hebrew_year)|5691]]), and the following statement was recorded:<blockquote>All of the members of this congregation with the exception of two who were financially unale, have contributed to the building fund of the Temple. It is hoped that a mortgage will not become necessary in spite of the [[Great Depression|financial crisis]] from which the whole country (and the world at large) is suffering, as one of the disastrous after-effects of the [[World War I|World War]]. May future generations achieve the wisdom and the courage necessary to avoid this horrible crime: WAR. May they live in harmony and peace!</blockquote> A Religious School with nine classrooms was added in [[1960]]. Today, many members of the current congregation consist of descendants of the men who founded the temple over 125 years agoTemple. Immigrants from Eastern Europe, Israel, and the Caucasus eventually settled in Pensacola and became part of the congregation as well. Beth-El is unique today in that a large number of the congregation consists of Jews who converted from other faiths.