Although the SJHS dates to the 1950s, the organization went dormant for a number of years. It was revived in October, 1976, when a History of Southern Jewry Conference convened in Richmond. The Virginia conference was sponsored by the American Jewish Historical Society, the Richmond Jewish Community Council, and the Department of History & Judaic Culture Committee of Virginia Commonwealth University with the support of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.
As an outgrowth of that gathering, an organizational meeting of the Southern Jewish Historical Society was held the following spring in Raleigh, NC, with Dr. Abram Kanof the ad hoc president. Officers elected were Saul Viener, president; Jack Coleman, vice-president, Louis Schmier, secretary, and David Goldberg, treasurer.
1976 - History of Southern Jewry Conference, Richmond, VA, October 1976
1978 - Raleigh, NC, April
1978 - Savannah, GA, November
1979 - Charleston, SC
1980- Jacksonville, FL
1981 - Mobile, AL
1982 - New Orleans, LA
1983 - Savannah, GA
1984 - Richmond, VA,
1985 - Memphis, TN
1986 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
1987 - Durham, NC
1988 - Birmingham, AL
1989 - Charleston, SC - originally scheduled for November 3-5, 1989, but held March 23-25, 1990, because of Hurricane Hugo
1990 - Jackson, MS
1991 - Alexandria, VA
1992 - Montgomery, AL
1993 - Atlanta, GA
1994 - Raleigh, NC
1995 - New Orleans, LA
1996 - Miami Beach, FL
1997 - Hot Springs, AR
1998 - Nashville, TN
1999 - Richmond, VA
2000 - Cincinnati, OH
2001 - Norfolk, VA- November 2 - 4, 2001
2002 - Shreveport, LA - October 25 - 27, 2002
2003 - Memphis, TN - October 30-November 2, 2003
2004 - Charleston, SC, October 28-31, 2004
2005 - Baltimore, MD - November 4-6, 2005
2006 - Little Rock, AR - November 9-12, 2006
2007 - Washinton, DC - November 2-4, 2007
2008 - Atlanta, GA - November 1-3, 2008
2009 - New Orleans, LA - October 30-November 1, 2009
2010 - Chapel Hill, NC - October 22-24, 2010
2011 - Columbia, SC - October 28-30, 2011
2012 - Asheville, NC
2013 - Birmingham, AL
2014 - Austin, TX
2015 - Nashville, TN
2016 - Natchez, MS
2017 - Cincinnati, OH
2018 - Mobile, AL
2019 - Charlottesville, VA
2020 - No conference because of the pandemic
2021 - Virtual Conference
2022 - Charleston, SC
2023 - Houston, TX