9-05-2026 5:03am

TODAY: Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles Hosts Annual Duryea Day Event

Lesley Misko Editor

The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is pleased to announce it will host the 60th Annual Duryea Day on Saturday, September 5, 2026, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Boyertown Community Park, located at 419 South Madison Street in Boyertown.

Each year, the Museum, in partnership with the Pottstown Region A.A.C.A., hosts an antique & classic car & truck show and flea market, intended to strengthen community ties and raise important funding for the Museum’s operations and the maintenance of its collections and facilities.

Hundreds of vehicles will be on display throughout the park. This year, the event will feature two exciting shows by Bob Hamel, Elvis Impersonator. He will perform the classics you know and love. This year’s show will also feature several delicious food trucks and vendors, including Johnny’s Pizza, Moyer’s Catering, The Peppermint Stick Candy Store & Ice Cream Parlor, Cosmic Kettle Corn, and Helping Hands. Day-of-show registration for show vehicles is also available—all makes, models, and years are welcome.

This year’s feature vehicle is the Pullman automobile. The Pullman Motor Car Company, founded by Arthur Broomall in York, Pennsylvania, began as a luxury automobile manufacturer. The “Pullman” name was used because of its association with Pullman train cars, known for their quality and opulence, though the two are not related. The first Pullman was built in 1903 and featured a unique, but disastrous, six-wheel design.

Production for the vehicles that Pullman would eventually become known for began in 1905. These models sold well, and the company became noted for its luxury and quality. But recovery from the Panic of 1907 was slow, and the company struggled financially. They adopted mass-production methods and more widespread use of purchased items, leading to a decline in the quality of production models. Production ceased in late 1917. Of the total number of vehicles built by the company between 1905 and 1917, just 25 are known to have survived.

Spectator admission for the event is $10 for adults, free for ages 12 & under. Spectator admission includes both the Park and the Museum. Shuttle service is available between the Park and the Museum throughout the event.

Event attendees should stop by the Museum, too—new to the Museum’s collection: a 1940 Bantam Pickup Truck. American Bantam grew out of the earlier American Austin company, which had introduced compact, economical cars to the American market at the start of the Depression. Reorganized in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the mid-1930s, Bantam continued to build small automobiles and light delivery vehicles distinguished by clever engineering, modest dimensions, and efficient operation. By 1940, Bantam’s pickups and roadsters represented the final chapter of the company’s civilian automobile production before the demands of war reshaped American industry.

The 60th Annual Duryea Day is sponsored locally by Truist, D&S Elite Construction,Gabelsville Athletic Association, Quigley Bus Service, Camping World, Morell Funeral Home, Kathy Barry Agency, and Pottstown Hospital – Tower Health.

The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer. The Museum, located at 85 South Walnut Street in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, preserves and displays examples of Pennsylvania's road transportation history in the former factory buildings of the Boyertown Auto Body Works. Over 90 locally manufactured cars, trucks, carriages, bicycles, and motorcycles are on display, as well as three examples of roadside architecture--a 1921 cottage-style Sunoco gas station, a 1938 JerryO'Mahony diner, and an early 20th-century “Tip Top” tourist cabin.

The Museum is open seven days a week, 9:30 am-4 pm. Contribution rate is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and AAA members, and ages 12 & under are free. For more information, call 610-367-2090 or visit www.boyertownmuseum.org.

Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles

85 South Walnut Street

Boyertown, PA 19512

610-367-2090

Facebook: Boyertown.Museum

Instagram: boyertown_museum

www.boyertownmuseum.org