Act II’s 'White Mountains' explores the legacy of asbestos in Ambler

Local-history buffs should get their tickets to a theatrical event in Ambler at Act II Playhouse on April 6, exploring Ambler’s history as “the asbestos capital of the world” before anyone knew that asbestos isn’t something you want in your backyard.

Act II presents White Mountains, a special evening of staged readings with live music. Top Philly playwrights mine the true stories of Ambler residents, activists, and officials.

You can trace the history of the borough of Ambler to Lenni Lenape people, and then to William Penn in the 1680s. Many early European settlers there were Quakers, and by the mid-1730s the town was known as the Village of the Wissahickon, with a tannery and several millworks through the 18th and 19th centuries

In 1855, its train station became a stop on the North Pennsylvania Railroad line; the following year, a devastating train collision killed 59 people and injured 86 more. A Quaker neighbor named Mary Johnson Ambler walked two miles to the crash site, bringing medical supplies and leading the rescue work. She opened her own house as a hospital for survivors. Several years later, the railway company renamed the station in her honor, and when the borough was incorporated in 1888, Ambler officially got its modern name.

By the late 1800s, Ambler’s economy relied on asbestos production by three manufacturing companies. They began dumping asbestos-containing waste in the area in the 1930s and the practice didn’t stop until 1974, though the manufacture of at least one asbestos-containing product went on until 1987. Eventually, the dump site held more than 1.5 million cubic yards of asbestos waste in a 25-acre area dubbed the "White Mountains." The Environmental Protection Agency launched a 20-year remediation effort in 1973.

We now know asbestos is dangerous for our lungs and can lead to mesothelioma, an otherwise rare type of cancer that occurred at high rates in Ambler residents who were exposed to the old industry (studies of the health and environmental impacts continue). You can read here about the EPA’s work to restore the site.

Act II promises a roster of “exciting, entertaining, and thought-provoking plays” to capture that history, from playwrights Jessica Bedford, Mark Costello, Bill D’Agostino, Quinn Eli, Jacqueline Goldfinger, MJ Kaufman, and David Robson. David O’Connor directs.

Act II Playhouse (56 E. Butler Avenue in Ambler, PA) presents White Mountains for one night only, on Friday, April 6, at 8pm. Tickets ($10) are available online or by calling 215-654-0200.