Boyertown, Pennsylvania

Sponsored by Outta The Blue

  You can shop for those "hard-to-buy-for" people at Outta The Blue!  Located in Boyertown, you are offered an eclectic mix of 32 vendors, featuring antiques, candles, crafts, gift baskets, unique jewelry and more, all under one roof!  You can find Outta The Blue, off Route 100 on County Line Road, next to Bonanza in Boyertown.  For more information, call 610-473-8661.

Below: Times (and traffic) have changed in Boyertown since this ca.1910 postcard view was taken.

Below: Then as now, this building has stood as a landmark in downtown Boyertown.

Below: There was a time when the trolley passed through Boyertown.

THE FACTS: Boyertown was carved from Colebrookdale Township in 1866, and was named after Henry Boyer, who was the owner of much of the land that is now the borough. He was also the operator of a tavern and general store around which the town grew. 

THE FIGURES : One of the most populous boroughs of Berks County, and the largest outside of the metropolitan Reading area, Boyertown's estimated 4,300 residents dwell within one-eighth of a square mile. 

THE FUN STUFF: There's lots of fun stuff about Boyertown, and lots of historical stuff, too. 

     The business hub of eastern Berks County, and just inside the Berks/Montgomery county line, Boyertown could be considered a typical American "small town." The scene of gala parades, festivals, and carnivals, it is also the home of a handsome library, active historical society, and world-class museum. 

     Antique shops, specialty stores, restaurants and offices line its main "downtown" streets, and the borough has long been a major banking and insurance interests.

     It has its own newspaper, a movie theater, radio station, and is the center of a sprawling school district that spreads across the county line to townships inside Montgomery County. 

     While its high school sports teams can hold their own against any, when a Berks Countian associates sports with Boyertown, they'll associate one sport in particular - baseball.

     Among the prides and joys of Boyertown is its "Bears," the American Legion baseball team. In 27 seasons, the Bears have won 21 county, 16 state, and seven national championships. The team plays in Bears Stadium, which has also hosted several state Legion championships.

     Boyertown's diverse industrial base has ranged from early iron ore mines and processing to knitting, manufacturing of burial caskets, and foundries. The hills around Boyertown have long been known for their orchards and nurseries. 

     A traditional industry that has remained indelible in Boyertown is the building of carriages, buggies, wagons, sleighs, and automobile and truck bodies. Such enterprise dates as far back as 1872.

     In 1965, the old Boyertown Auto Body Works opened its Collection of Historic Vehicles to the public, and that marked the beginnings of the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. Three years later, a foundation was established to continue and expand that museum. Hailed as one of the finest transportation museums in the United States, the museum is undergoing  yet another expansion at this time.

     The "home town hero" of Boyertown is also a man who rates a paragraph or two in American history - Gen. Carl Spaatz.

     Born in 1891, "Tooey" Spaatz as he was known to his friends, graduated from West Point and went on to an illustrious career in aviation. In World War II, he was commander of the 8th Air Force and U.S. Strategic Air Forces, and in 1947, he was named as the first Chief of Staff of the new United States Air Force. Gen. Spaatz, for whom the terminal at Reading Regional Airport was named, died in 1974.

     And, Boyertown's history is darkened by what became the most devastating fire in history when it broke out on January 13, 1908. A church group was presenting a program in the "Rhodes Opera House" on the second floor of a building when a fire swept through the auditorium, sending more than 170 people to their deaths. 

     The aftermath and investigation of the cause of the fire and the deaths contributed to the reassessment of fire laws and ordinances nationwide.

Thanks to WEEU's Charles J. Adams III for help in compiling this material.

34 North Fourth Street, Reading, PA 19601
Phone: 610-376-7335   Fax: 610-376-7756
E-mail: weeu@weeu.com

Copyright 2007.  All rights reserved.