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24-552: A post office called Boyertown has been in operation since 1828. The community was named for its founders, brothers Henry and Daniel Boyer. In 1908, Boyertown was the site of the Rhoads Opera House fire . Boyertown is located along the southeastern border of Berks County . It is bordered on the north, west, and south by Colebrookdale Township , and to the southeast by Douglass Township in Montgomery County . Boyertown

48-479: A cyber school program. The area is served by The Berks-Mont News , a weekly paper with a circulation of 5,500. Boyertown has one sister city , as designated by Sister Cities International : Rhoads Opera House fire The Rhoads Opera House Fire occurred on January 13, 1908, in Boyertown , Pennsylvania . The opera house caught fire during a stage play sponsored by nearby St. John's Lutheran Church. Of

72-408: A fire on the stage. In short order, the spreading fire ignited a mixture of lighting gas and oxygen from a malfunctioning stereopticon machine being used to present a magic lantern show at intermission. Audience members waited for the fire to be extinguished by theatre personnel, wasting the precious minutes they needed to escape safely. The stage and auditorium were located on the second floor and

96-576: A scathing letter to the Pennsylvania State Department of Commerce secretary in 1955, who abruptly canceled the department's subscription to the Dispatch and requested a refund. Hart mailed the refund of 70 cents with the letter, that included the statement, "Frankly, John, until your letter arrived we weren't full aware of the extent of the commonwealth's financial difficulties...it never occurred to us that our 67 cents loomed so large." From

120-729: A single day. One hundred and five new graves were dug in Boyertown's Fairview Cemetery. Just over $ 22,000 was received in response to an appeal for contributions toward burial of the dead. The incident spurred the Pennsylvania legislature into passing new legislative standards for doors, landings, lighting, curtains, fire extinguishers , aisles, and marked exits. All doors were required to open outward and remain unlocked. Governor Edwin Stuart signed Pennsylvania's first fire law on May 3, 1909. The building of apartments and stores has now been built on

144-515: Is 6b. As of the 2000 census, there were 3,940 people, 1,805 households, and 1,025 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,941.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,908.0/km). There were 1,885 housing units at an average density of 2,364.2 per square mile (912.8/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.83% White , 0.20% African American , 0.03% Native American , 0.36% Asian , 0.13% from other races , and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of

168-635: Is included in the Reading metropolitan statistical area , which is part the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , Boyertown has a total area of 0.77 square miles (2.0 km), all land. It has a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ) and average monthly temperatures range from 30.0 °F in January to 74.7 °F in July. The hardiness zone

192-446: Is somewhat similar in overall appearance to the original structure. The main difference is in the overall height of the building and its second floor windows. In the new building these are approximately six feet tall, in the original building they were closer to eight feet tall. The original auditorium was approximately 12 feet in height, thus accommodating the taller windows. The present day building does not house an auditorium at all, and

216-531: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 10.91 miles (17.56 km) were maintained by the borough. Pennsylvania Route 73 (Philadelphia Avenue) is the main east–west road through the borough. It leads east-southeast to Schwenksville and eventually Northeast Philadelphia . To the northwest it leads to Blandon north of Reading . Pennsylvania Route 562 (Reading Avenue) leads west to Reading proper. Pennsylvania Route 100 bypasses

240-529: The stereopticon , but the inquest's jury found her innocent. Private lawsuits were brought against Monroe by the families of several victims. The result of these lawsuits is unclear from surviving records. Monroe's sister, Della Earhart Mayers, was killed in the fire and is buried in Boyertown's Fairview Cemetery. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry , Philadelphians contributed relief funds of $ 18,000. Three morgues were set up and approximately fifteen thousand people attended funerals on

264-523: The approximately 400 men, women, and children either in attendance or associated with the performance of the play, 171 perished in various ways as they tried to escape the conflagration. The Rhoads Opera House was not a structure normally described as an opera house. It was a three-story commercial brick building which contained a hardware store and a bank on its first floor, an auditorium (the "opera house") and offices on its second floor, and several meeting rooms and offices on its third floor. The auditorium

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288-649: The borough just outside its eastern border, leading north to Macungie near Allentown and south into Pottstown . A railroad line runs south from Boyertown to Pottstown. This line is used by the Colebrookdale Railroad tourist line and the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad freight line. The borough is served by the Boyertown Area School District .This includes one senior high school, two middle schools, six elementary schools, and

312-485: The early 1950s to the 1980s, the paper was associated with Jim Webb, who became editor in 1953 and publisher in 1964. One notable editor for the paper was Mary Jane Lentz (Schneider), who was editor from 1966 to 1989. During her tenure at the paper, she earned numerous awards from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, and served as its first female president. She also penned a two-volume history of

336-403: The few emergency exits available were either unmarked or blocked. Two fire escapes were available but were only accessible through latched windows whose sills were located 3.5 feet (1 m) above the floor. Of the approximately 400 men, women, and children either in attendance or associated with the performance of the play, 171 perished in various ways as they tried to escape the conflagration. In

360-552: The former opera house's site with a plaque commemorating the tragedy. Notes Bibliography The Berks-Mont News Berks-Mont News is an American weekly paper published by Digital First Media . It has a circulation of 5,500 and primarily serves Boyertown, Pennsylvania . The paper is a conglomeration of several weeklies severing Berks and Montgomery Counties known as Berk-Mont Newspapers, which include Boyertown Area Times , Southern Berks News , The Community Connection , and TriCounty Record . The Berks-Mont News

384-450: The median income for a family was $ 52,943. Males had a median income of $ 33,783 versus $ 26,507 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $ 21,194. About 3.6% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over. As of 2020, there were 12.82 miles (20.63 km) of public roads in Boyertown, of which 1.91 miles (3.07 km) were maintained by

408-461: The panic to escape, many were crushed in the narrow main entrance stairway, as well as against the jammed main exit swinging doors of the second floor auditorium. In a few instances, entire families were wiped out. One firefighter, John Graver, was also killed while responding to the incident. Monroe was subpoenaed to appear before the inquest after the fire, but refused to appear. She was accused of employing an inadequately trained young man to operate

432-471: The play. Approximately sixty people were involved in the production, including stagehands and others not actually performing. 312 tickets were sold for the Monday night performance, although there is no certain count of the number actually in attendance, and a number of accounts state that there were many patrons standing. The fire started when a kerosene lamp being used for stage lighting was knocked over, starting

456-408: The population. There were 1,805 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size

480-517: The second floor is consequentially of a lesser height as are its windows. Additionally, the present day building is not equipped with fire escapes . The original building had three: one on its front façade , one on the Washington Street façade, and one on the opposite side façade. In many other major characteristics the present day building is similar to the original except for certain architectural and decorative details. The present day building

504-401: Was 2.87. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $ 39,232, and

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528-447: Was a rental facility made available for public and private events such as business meetings, lectures, school graduations, and public entertainment events. The auditorium included a small stage located at the back end of the auditorium. It is doubtful that any opera was ever performed on this stage. The present day building occupying the same site as the original Rhoads Building, on the corner of Washington Street and Philadelphia Avenue,

552-501: Was constructed approximately two years after the fire using fire insurance proceeds the building's owner and prominent Boyertown citizen, Dr. Thomas Rhoads, received as a result of the complete destruction of the original building. The play being performed on the night of January 13 was The Scottish Reformation by Harriet Earhart Monroe , who was heavily involved in the production. A slide ( magic lantern ) show and lecture were presented at intermission to provide historical background for

576-740: Was founded as the Boyertown Area Times in 1885, combining several local weeklies. One of the oldest weeklies was the Boyertown Area Times, which was founded in 1885 as the Birdsboro Dispatch. In 1908, H. E. Hart, who had founded the Birdsboro Review , purchased the Birdsboro Dispatch and eventually combined the papers under the Dispatch heading. Hart served as editor of the paper until his death in 1951. Hart published

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