The Boyertown Area Historical Society will lay a wreath on the graves of the 25 unidentified victims of the tragic Opera House fire at Fairview Cemetery on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. to commemorate that heartbreaking event.
The public, and in particular descendants of those victims, are invited to attend. Everyone will meet at the Cemetery on West Philadelphia Avenue. A representative from St. John’s Lutheran Church will participate in the ceremony.
It was on January 19, 1908 that those victims were laid to rest, and 15,000 people were in town that day. There were very few dry eyes in the crowd as they stood at silent attention with bared heads in respect to the dead. Ministers from local Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist-Episcopal, and Evangelical churches conducted the services.
The unidentified bodies were placed in individual caskets, in separate graves, divided by 9 inch brick walls. Relatives stood near the gravesite in a special section that had been roped off for them.
It was the busiest day in Boyertown for the Reading Railroad Company since its opening in 1869, bringing 7000 people on special excursion trains from as far away as New York, Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The rest came by trolley, horse and buggy, a few by motor car, and some on a bicycle. Among them were many newspaper reporters. Members of the State police and officers from the Reading city police force directed traffic and maintained order.