Millburn, NJ Fire Photos (6)

On January 14th, 1980 at 1224 hours a fire was reported at the Papermill Playhouse on Brookside Drive. As first-due units arrived on the scene a heavy smoke condition was noted above the theatre section of the historic building.

Toward the end of the 18th century, in March of 1795, Sam Campbell built a mill on a tract of land along a brook in a town then known as Millville. He operated it for nearly 20 years until fire ended his business. After several abandoned years, the mill changed hands many times until, in the late 1870s, Diamond Mill Paper Company took over and began making paper products until 1928. Around the time the mill was shutting down, Antoinette Scudder and Frank Carrington discovered the vacant mill and over the course of several years created a theatre on the site of the former paper mill. Founded in 1934, Paper Mill Playhouse raised the curtain on its first performance on November 14, 1938.

Due to the fire in 1980, the Papermill was forced to close. However, like a phoenix, it rose from its own ashes as a new theater in 1982. The photos in this section were taken by Mr. Ira Schwartz who owned Millburn Camera and served as the MFD Photographer for many years.