The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles Celebrates 60 Years in 2025

From The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles

The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is thrilled to be celebrating 60 years of preserving Pennsylvania’s transportation heritage in 2025. The Boyertown Museum plans to commemorate this anniversary throughout the year with special events and programming.

History of The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles

The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles was founded by Paul and Erminie Hafer and opened on Dec. 11, 1965. Paul, then-president of the Boyertown Auto Body Works, and Erminie had a passion for the craftsmanship and ingenuity demonstrated in the vehicles built in southeastern Pennsylvania. They amassed a collection of locally built road vehicles, covering every type from bicycles to wagons, cars, motorcycles, and more. The Hafers especially took pride in the vehicles built right here in town.

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 and became the Boyertown Auto Body Works, with a new product line of custom commercial truck bodies.

Even before then, the carriage factory saw the necessity to change with the times and introduced their own truck bodies in 1914. The Boyertown Auto Body Works carried on the tradition of fine Pennsylvania German craftsmanship with its trucks, retaining many of the carriage factory workers through to truck production. The Body Works operated until 1990, and throughout its history, built a wide range of truck bodies, from military vehicles to delivery trucks, campers, and more. The building that once housed the Body Works, and the original Jeremiah Sweinhart Carriage Factory, are part of the Museum campus today and serve as the main galleries.

The original Museum, which opened in 1965, was located in a former factory building of the Body Works and was located at 28 Warwick St. in Boyertown. In 2000, the Museum moved to its current location at 85 S. Walnut St. The Museum continuously adds to its collection of Pennsylvania-built vehicles and features changing exhibits, many of which involve loans from other institutions or individuals. Paul and Erminie Hafer’s dream of saving Pennsylvania’s rich transportation history lives on.

Celebrating 60 Years of the Museum

The Boyertown Museum has several events planned in honor of its 60th anniversary. Our popular community events will be back, including Fastnacht Day, Diner Day, Cars & Cones, and Duryea Day. We will also have several special events throughout the year celebrating the Museum’s, the Carriage Factory’s, and Boyertown Auto Body Works’ contributions to Boyertown’s rich history of manufacturing.

We will also feature a special exhibit beginning in April 2025 of our Duryea automobiles, commemorating Charles Duryea’s move to Reading 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 afterward to build his own unique automobiles, the largest collection of which is on display at the Boyertown Museum.

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Source: bctv