A little known tragedy at a Cannonsburg Pa Opera house which left 26 dead from a Panicked Stampede

It has been a law for many years  in many states that it is illegal to yell  FIRE in a crowded  theater when it is not on fire. Anti Panic laws as they are known  are in place for good reason after numerous tragedy's resulted in people stampeding to escape a venue and people being crushed to death after some one would yell fire or bomb  etc to get a rise out of the crowd.

This case of a false fire alert played out with deadly results on a warm Saturday evening Aug 26  1911 in the Morgan Opera House  in Canonsburg.
Home to singing greats Bobby Vinton and Perry Como  you would never expect such a tragedy that would tally 26 dead would have played out in such a small town but it did.

The theater was playing several serial features when one of the film strips caught fire in the Projection Booth  and the projectionists quickly where able to remove the flaming film and stomp it out . But in the mean time a young man passing the open door to the booth saw the flames and yelled
FIRE  a panic crowd quickly ran to the single steep staircase  and the pushing and shoving would result in the deaths of 26 men woman and children.
As there had been several well publisied fire tragdys in opera house around the county at that time

https://serendipitychronicles.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/the-ghost-of-grief-impact-of-1908-roads-opera-house-fire-still-felt-today/

This may well have been what set people off in such a panic but we will never know as will we never know the name of the young man who yelled fire when there was not one. 

The opera house would close and be turned into apartments and you would never suspect  such events ever took place riding by it today.

http://canonsburgfriends.blogspot.com/2011/09/canonsburg-opera-house-tragedy.html

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19940619&id=8d1fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=V24NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3123,6165325

http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/2467/canonsburg,-pa-theatre-panic,-aug-1911

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/46659

http://query.nytimes.com

https://books.google.com/books?id=Bepp6zrcI0gC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=morgan+opera+house+disaster&source=bl&ots=SElNm5gCBK&sig=iea8H_hwpzu4AzYrGROUccJ3YEQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB2Y-G-bPKAhUGPz4KHUzmBdkQ6AEIQTAJ#v=onepage&q=morgan%20opera%20house%20disaster&f=false