05/22/2026
Simon Adler was the only Jewish person to return to Batesville after the Civil War for more than a decade. In 1866, he assumed control of all joint enterprises between the Adler and Hirsch families for the sum of $5.00. Adler soon became one of the wealthiest men in Independence County.
He continued as agent for Hirsch-Adler landholdings and invested in a store in Jacksonport with his cousins, Ben and Sol Adler. He also expanded into the cotton factoring business through the founding of the Adler-Goldman Company, which shipped cotton to both St. Louis and New Orleans. Adler-Goldman supplied a chain of stores in Newport, Batesville, Clarendon, Pocahontas, Evening Shade, and as far away as Hermanville, Mississippi.
Newspapers frequently carried accounts of the activities of “our good friend Simon Adler.” He loaned money to farmers and businessmen throughout the county, and local tradition holds that he even carried bills and notes in his hat. He was well known and widely respected within the community, and more than a dozen children were named after him.
Adler brought in young Jewish managers and bookkeepers to oversee his mercantile store and other enterprises. The store operated on the first floor of the Batesville Institute, which stood near the northwest corner of Central and Main Streets until the building was destroyed by fire in 1880. Although Batesville had no synagogue, Jewish families in northeast Arkansas observed holy days, and rabbis were summoned for special occasions and religious observances.
On August 1, 1880, he married Emilie Altschul of New York City. The couple later had two children, Nathan and Ray. Around that same time, the Adler Opera Hall was built on West Main Street. Known as the “daisy of the town,” it drew crowds for theater performances, orchestras, and dances. The hall reached its peak in 1883. By the end of the decade, however, its use had declined. Over the years, many different businesses occupied the building. Today, the former opera hall still stands, nearly 150 years after it was constructed.
Adler was one of Batesville’s first private bankers before the Bank of Batesville was chartered in 1889. Around 1891, he organized and built the People’s Savings Bank, which was later reorganized as the First National Bank of Batesville. The historic building still stands today.
Adler died on October 5, 1904, at the home of his sister, Caroline Wollf, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery. Later that week, businesses in Batesville closed for one hour in tribute, and many citizens honored his memory. A fountain at Batesville High School was dedicated to Simon Adler. In the dedication address, Ernest Neill described him as “an alien … and of a religion differing from the vast majority of our citizens, yet held in such high esteem.”
After Adler’s death, the only Jews remaining in Batesville were his son Nathan, the family of Michael Jacobs, and Hermann Schott. His wife and daughter moved to Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of twenty-three, Nathan Adler was elected president of First National Bank. He later married Helen Albright and moved from Batesville to Little Rock in 1920, where he became president of the Arkansas Fertilizer Company.
Most of the other Jewish families had left before 1900 following the collapse of the cotton market. Schott came as close as anyone to becoming Simon Adler’s successor, though he never achieved the same level of success. Michael Jacobs established a variety store, and after his death in 1933, his widow and daughters continued to operate the business.
One of Jacobs’ daughters, Rose, later recalled that it was difficult, though not impossible, to be Jewish in Batesville. She took pride both in her commitment to Batesville, which she refused to leave, and in Judaism, which she held tenaciously. She died in 1976 and is buried with her family in Batesville.
The OIRM recognizes the importance of preserving the stories, records, and experiences of Batesville’s early Jewish families as part of the broader history of Independence County. Community support makes this work possible. To become a member, donate, or learn more about volunteer and educational opportunities, please contact the museum at (870) 793-2121 or visit oirm.org.
Photos:
• Photograph of Simon Adler — Kenny and Michele Gerhardt Collection
• People's Savings Bank — Ann Rhodes Collection
• Adler Opera Hall, ca. 1900s — Lyon College Photo Collection
• Adler Opera Hall, 1901 — Lyon College Photo Collection
• Invoice to S. A. Hail from Simon Adler, June 14, 1878 — Betty Massey Estate
• Two Receipts from Simon Adler, Banker, dated 1881 and 1893 — Mack & Massey Collections
• Batesville Guard, September 9, 1877
• North Arkansas Pilot — The Pilot Extra, Feb 20, 1880 —Dora Le Ferguson Collection
• Herman Schott's Camp yard, ca. 1903 — Powell-Guard Collection
• Mike Jacobs — Lyon College Photo Collection
• Gertrude Jacobs (sister of Rose Jacobs), Pearl Henderson (?), ______? — Lyon College Photo Collection
