Boyertown Area Historical Society Plans Opera House Fire Journey

by Luann Zambanini

Walk in the shoes of someone who attended the play on January 13, 1908, by starting at the historic State Theatre to view the Opera House Fire Documentary, created in 2008 by WFMZ for the 100th Anniversary of the Boyertown Opera House fire.

On Sunday, June 11, 2023, the doors open to the Historic State Theater at 3:30 p.m. where the Boyertown Area Historical Society, in keeping with Building a Better Boyertown’s recent Heritage Day, has planned an event to take you on an Opera House Fire Journey.

Tickets are $20; and with your ticket, you will gain entrance into both the documentary film and the Boyertown Historical Society. The documentary will begin at 4:00 p.m.

The name and age of someone who attended the film will be printed on your theatre ticket. But to find out if your person survived or were a victim of the fire, you’ll take the journey by visiting Fairview Cemetery where you will see markers by the victim’s graves. You will be surprised how many victims are buried on Fairview Cemetery. You may even find the name that is on your ticket.

After your visit to the cemetery, you’ll make your way to the Boyertown Area Historical Society at 43 South Chestnut Street. Inside, you will be able to check the lists of survivors and victims to see if the person named on your ticket survived.

Also at the society, you will be able to view scrapbooks that have never before been on display. Other information on the fire will be on display, and a volunteer will be there to talk about the fire and answer questions.

Please join us for an enlightening event. Tickets are available at the Peppermint Stick Candy store or at the State Theatre the day of the event for $20 (cash) or on-line at https://boyertownhistory.org/product/opera-house-fire-journey-ticket/

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