The first Jewish people settled on Statia around 1660. In 1739 they erected the Honen Dalim synagogue, which means 'charitable to the poor'. The yellow stones that were used to erect this important Jewish monument were shipped from the Netherlands. A sweeping hurricane ravaged the building in 1772, but it was rebuilt shortly after only to fall into ruin again in the 19th century. In 2001, the exterior of the synagogue was restored and there are plans to completely restore the second oldest Jewish synagogue in the Western Hemisphere once the funds are found.