After his showboat sank in a storm, George Stuart returned to Nelsonville, married Nancy Dew of a prominent local family, and began building a permanent theater. Stuart's Opera House opened in 1879 at the start of Nelsonville's boom period and became a cornerstone of the town on its historic Public Square. It offered many kinds of entertainment, served as a gathering place for the community, and hosted some of the era's most successful acts until it closed in 1924. Efforts to reopen it in the 1970s were delayed by a devastating fire in March 1980, and the grand reopening did not come until 1997. Today it is a world-class performing arts center and historic theater that continues to host concerts, plays, and performances, with the community still central through arts education programs and the annual Nelsonville Music Festival.