Ground for the Brookhaven Cemetery was purchased in 1910 by the Ahavas Israel Lodge, a local branch of the National Ahavas Israel. In 1940, Joseph Warwick/Warowitz1 purchased an adjoining plot of ground and donated it to the congregation.

In 1949 a Memorial Circle was established by the Jewish War Veterans - Chester Post 134 in memory of those who died in the World Wars.

The desire for friendship and fraternity resulted in the formation of Ahavas Israel, a social and beneficial lodge, which was a local branch of the National Ahavas Israel. It had 50 members. In 1910, when the national order dissolved, the Chester lodge immediately reorganized and became affiliated with the national B'rith Sholom Lodge. It served as an active branch for nine years. By 1919, however, the national assessments were too heavy for the group, so they withdrew and became an independent organization, adopting the name of Agudath Israel. This lodge disbanded in 1935 when other programs took over its purposes. One of the lasting contributions of this lodge to our community was its establishment of Brookhaven Cemetery and the giving of this land to Ohev Sholom Synagogue as a burial place for the Jews of Chester.

Caring for the Jewish dead was always a primary concern of our forefathers. It was logical, therefore, that as early as 1890 Chester Jewry organized a volunteer group of local people called the Cemetery Association of Chester, Ahavas Israel. The group included Max Blumberg, Kasrel Goodman, Samuel Lax and Samuel D. Levy. This organization was succeeded by a group called the Chevra Kadisha. They not only prepared the body for burial and handled funeral arrangements, but they maintained constant attendance at the cemetery and kept a record book so that memorial services were held yearly. Mr. and Mrs. Moses Levy donated sufficient ground in the cemetery to bury those who died penniless.

In 1910 the lodge group purchased ground at the Brookhaven site. In 1925 the Chevra Kadisha raised $5,500 for the building of the brick chapel at the cemetery, under the leadership of Lawrence Blumberg, Barnett Goodman, Isaac Sapovits and Hyman Cholodofsky. It was not until 1930 that Reisman Funeral Directors was contacted to handle burials. At that time the rate was $75.00, which covered all arrangements. In 1940, Joseph Warwick/Warowitz1 purchased an adjoining plot of ground and donated it to the congregation.

By the end of the twentieth century's first decade, the Jewish community had expanded in size and activity. It had raised money for and built a synagogue. It had fraternal and charitable organizations. It had a cemetery. It made provision for education of the young.