BOYERTOWN PA – A year-long series of special events and programming is planned during 2025 by the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles to observe its 60th anniversary of “preserving Pennsylvania’s transportation heritage.”
Its popular community events – Fastnacht Day, Diner Day, Cars & Cones, and Duryea Day – will make their regular returns. Several museum special events also are in the works to acknowledge contributions to Boyertown’s rich history of manufacturing by the Carriage Factory and its successor, the Boyertown Auto Body Works.
The museum, beginning in April, expects to feature a special exhibit of its Duryea automobiles. It will commemorate Charles Duryea’s move to Reading PA in 1900. Charles and his brother, Frank, are credited with building the first commercially available car in the United States in 1892. Charles moved to Reading soon after to build his own unique automobiles.
The largest collection of Duryea vehicles is housed at the museum, 85 S. Walnut St.
The fanfare leads up to Dec. 11 (Thursday), the day in 1965 on which the museum was founded by Paul and Erminie Hafer. Paul, at the time, was president of the Boyertown Auto Body Works. Erminie had a passion for the craftsmanship and ingenuity embodied by vehicles built in southeastern Pennsylvania.
A Deep Coverage of Transportation Topics
A variety of museum exhibits and presentations cover transportation-related topics. They include:
- Carriage Factory and Boyertown Auto Body Works histories;
- Roadside architecture and Fegley’s Reading Diner;
- History of the Bookmobile;
- A history of the bicycle, as well as Bicycling and the Women’s Movement;
- The Pennsylvania Turnpike;
- A history of Cycle Cars;
- Charles Duryea and the Duryea Auto; and
- A general history of the museum itself.
The Story Behind Boyertown’s Vehicular History
The Hafers amassed a collection of locally built road vehicles. It covered every type, from bicycles to wagons, from cars to motorcycles, and more. The Hafers took particular pride “in vehicles built right here in town,” the museum reports. Today, “their dream of saving Pennsylvania’s rich transportation history lives on,” it adds.
In 1872, the Jeremiah Sweinhart Carriage Factory opened on South Walnut Street to manufacture sleighs, carriages, and wagons. Though the company name changed several times, horse-drawn vehicles continued to be built on site until 1926, when the company changed owners. It became the Boyertown Auto Body Works, with a new product line of custom commercial truck bodies.
Even before then, the museum notes, the carriage factory recognized the need to change with the times. Its introduced truck bodies in 1914.
Boyertown Auto Body Works “carried on the tradition of fine Pennsylvania-German craftsmanship with its trucks,” the museum says. The company retained many of the carriage factory workers, and shifted them to truck production. Throughout its history, the Boy Works built a wide range of truck bodies: military vehicles, delivery trucks, campers, and others too. It ceased operations in 1990.
The building that once housed the Body Works, and the original Jeremiah Sweinhart Carriage Factory, are part of the museum campus today. Their spaces serve as main galleries. The original museum, which opened in 1965, was located in a former Body Works factory building in Boyertown at 28 Warwick St. The museum moved to its current location, 85 S. Walnut St., during 2000.
A Growing Collection, Displayed 7 Days A Week
Its staff, volunteers, and supporters continue its work in adding to its collection of Pennsylvania-built vehicles, and changing exhibits. Many displays now involve loans from other institutions or individuals.
The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is a non-profit organization. It is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission costs $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and AAA members, and those age 12 and younger are admitted free. For more information, call the museum at 610-367-2090.
Graphic and photo provided by the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles
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