Church turned opera house razed by fire
In 1841, the pious and dedicated German Lutherans in Butler began worshipping in their newly built brick church on South McKean Street at the intersection of East Wayne Street, overlooking the scenic Connoquenessing Creek.
The congregation worshipped there for 50 years before selling the building in 1884 to Mr. I.J. McCandless, “who organized it into a company and changed it into an Opera House, at an expense of about $13,000 in all,” according to a newspaper article published on Oct. 2, 1891.
The article reported that the building had burned in a spectacular fire, denying the arts-loving residents of the Borough of Butler their prized Opera House.
“On Saturday night last, just as a comedy company was preparing for its last act, one of the employees in the basement discovered a fire raging in the large room called the 'property room,'” an early report revealed. “He gave the alarm, which was repeated upstairs and the audience left the building without serious accident or without any great confusion, but the members of the comedy company lost their heads and jumped out of the windows in their stage clothes, leaving everything else behind.”
The report on the fire went on to say that the comedians had plenty of time to retrieve their props, as a group of men lifted the piano from the orchestra pit and carried it outside before the fire engulfed the theater.
“One woman of the company fainted and had to be carried, and a child that was left behind was rescued,” the report recorded. “Some boys jumped from the gallery to the floor below, and from the windows to the ground, but none of them received serious injury.”
Flames spread rapidly and easily across the stage, as it was the only part of the building made entirely of wood.
The building had been sold two years before to a man named Andy Root, who also called the large building home.
“Mr. Root lost the property which, we understand, was all paid for excepting $2,000, also his household furniture, clothing, etc., and he estimates his entire loss at about $10,000, with no insurance whatever, he having allowed that to expire a year ago,” wrote the reporter.
A breeze from the south carried heat and sparks across the street to the Miller furniture factory and its stables in the rear.“The stable was entirely consumed and the furniture factory partially,” said the article. “The firemen did remarkably good work there, and the Miller family are under great obligations to them.”The Millers estimated a loss of about $2,000 for the machinery and lumber destroyed in the blaze.A home owned by Joseph Balph, located just a few feet from the Opera House, escaped destruction thanks to a liberal drenching by firefighters and the air current moving in the opposite direction.“A strong wind that night would have carried destruction with it,” the writer editorialized, “and that whole neighborhood can feel thankful that it did not exist.”Some firefighters remained on the scene through the night and continued to soak the Opera House in a seamless fire fighting effort, “excepting coupling the hose.”By morning, the walls of the old church remained standing, and daylight streamed through the top of the building where the roof had been.
According to the article, a citizen of the town furnished the unknown newspaper with a history of the former church.That summation states that the building was the first Lutheran church erected in Butler and had been used as the Opera House for 10 years before the fire.A stone facing McKean street contained a German inscription, which, translated to English, read “Saint Mark's Lutheran Church, erected in the year 1840.”When the church was sold to McCandless, the stone was removed and placed in the new church built on the corner of Washington and Jefferson streets.“The old church, just burned, was built under great difficulties and trials,” said the unnamed citizen. “Some of its building committee, among them the late Mr. Jacob Shaner and Jacob Walter, had their personal property levied upon by the sheriff to pay debts contracted in its building.”The church was dedicated Sept. 26, 1841, and the brick building lasted exactly 50 years before burning as an Opera House on Sept. 26, 1891.
The Rev J.C.G. Schweizerbarth, who by the time of the fire was deceased, had come from Germany in 1821 and made Zelienople his home. He was instrumental in the church's erection.“He was scholarly, learned and able, but his marked trait was wonderful energy,” the citizen recalled. “He visited many places and cities to raise money to build this now destroyed building and among them Philadelphia, where he called upon Stephen Girard for a contribution.”According to online historical records, Girard was a French immigrant who was a merchant, mariner, banker, philanthropist, humanitarian and patriot who became Philadelphia's richest citizen.Schweizerbarth became so adept at raising funds that he managed to have 11 Lutheran churches built in Butler and surrounding counties.The energetic pastor always wore his clerical robes, which were loose and flowing.“The one he used on weekdays was of fine blue calico and when he walked, which he did with great rapidity, this loose gown could be seen streaming in the wind behind him,” the citizen recalled. “He was pastor over his people here for about 28 years, ceasing his labors about 1850, and his remains lie at the church he had caused to be erected in Zelienople.”
After the fiery destruction of the Opera House, the citizens of Butler didn't wait long to get to work on creating another entertainment venue.According to an article that ran in a Butler newspaper on Oct. 16, 1891, just a few weeks after the fire, officials at the Butler Armory voted to remodel the lower floor into a new Opera House.“Architect Schenck has not yet perfected the plans for the improvement, but our people can rely upon the House being a credit to the town,” the article said.
