Boyertown Borough
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Borough Municipal offices are located at 100 S. Washington Street, Boyertown PA 19512; phone: 610-369-3044. Boyertown was settled around 1835, incorporated in October 1866 from Colebrookdale Township. Boyertown residential options include homes built in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries; twin homes on East Philadelphia were built as recently as 2006; late 19th and early 20th century row homes are found along Reading Avenue, 3rd, 4th and 5th streets; there are condominiums in the 300 block of Reading Avenue built in 2003; the bulk of the boro residences are detached singles with Reading and Philadelphia homes dating to the 1880s with a median age circa 1940 (singles) and circa 1920 (all types of residences, combined); lot sizes are typically one-fifth of an acre with some homes (1960s-1970s, Orchard Avenue, Walker Drive) with lots from one-half to three-quarters of an acre. Semi-detached (twin) residences appear to constitute the majority of residential homes, with most built circa 1900-1930s. Interior living space of all boro residences varies from less than 1000 sq. ft. to more than 4,000 with a median of approximately 1,500 sq. ft. Pennsylvania Guide, 1940
BOYERTOWN, 23.5 m. (386 alt., 3,943 pop.), founded in 1834, is a combination of industrial town and agricultural center. Here houses of brick, frame, or brownstone bear the stamp of age; few structures are modern. Manufactured articles include leather goods, metal, textiles, lumber products, and coffins. The BOYERTOWN BURIAL CASKET COMPANY PLANT (no visitors), with offices at 25 Walnut St., consists of a group of modern red brick buildings. This, the second largest coffin factory in the country, had its beginning in 1893. The SITE OF THE RHOADS OPERA HOUSE, SW. corner Washington St. and Philadelphia Ave., was the scene of a fire in 1908 that took the lives of 169 persons. A store building now occupies the site. FAIRVIEW CEMETERY, at the western end of Philadelphia Ave., contains the common grave of 25 victims of the fire. A plain monument lists the names, with ages ranging from 8 to 75 years. Federal Writers Project, Works Progress Administration, 1940 |
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