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Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
In the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania sits a town that looks like it belongs in the Alps. Jim Thorpe, formerly called Mauch Chunk (meaning ‘Sleeping Bear’ in the Lenni Lenape language), got its new name in 1954 to honor the famous Olympic athlete.
The town has peaks that reach 1,519 feet high, and the Lehigh River winds through its valley past buildings that look like they’re from a Swiss village. During the Industrial Revolution, this busy mining town shipped over a million tons of coal each year. Now, it’s a popular tourist spot where history meets outdoor adventure.
How Two Towns Became Jim Thorpe
When Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe died in 1953, his third wife Patricia struck an unusual deal with two struggling towns, Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk. In exchange for taking the athlete’s name, they built a large red marble monument and received permission to make the town his final resting place.
The plan worked better than expected. By 1962, more than 100,000 visitors were coming to the town each year to see the memorial and explore the area – even though Jim Thorpe had never been there while alive.
The First Roller Coaster Started as a Coal Track
Before anyone thought of building roller coasters for fun, Jim Thorpe had something very similar. In 1827, Josiah White and Erskine Hazard built the Switchback Gravity Railroad which was about 50 feet and had a track length of 600 feet. The clever system let loaded coal cars roll downhill while mules pulled empty ones back up.
People liked riding it so much that by the 1870s, it became a tourist attraction. Visitors will zoom down the mountain at a fast speed. Though the trains stopped running in 1933, you can now hike the old tracks and see the valley from a thousand feet up.
The Street Where Coal Barons Built Their Mansions
Broadway Street shows off some of Pennsylvania’s finest Victorian houses, with mansions built between 1850 and 1890. The coal and railroad bosses who built them were incredibly wealthy, with fortunes worth more than $50 million.
The Asa Packer Mansion, built in 1861, looks exactly as it did when the family lived there. It cost $14,000 to build – that’s like spending $400,000 today. Inside, you can see the original gas lamps and fancy French wallpaper that the Packers chose for their home.
The County Jail Where a Handprint Won’t Wash Away
The Carbon County Jail has stood since 1861, built with stone from nearby quarries and thick walls. Its 72 cells held many prisoners, but it’s most famous for the seven Irish coal miners known as the Molly Maguires who were hanged there.
One of these men, Alexander Campbell, left a handprint on his cell wall that people say can’t be removed. For years, no amount of washing or painting has made the print disappear. Today, visitors can see the cells, hanging room, and warden’s house just as they were.
Where Workers Lived in Connected Stone Houses
A row of 16 connected houses built in 1840s still stands along Race Street, known as Stone Row. The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company built these homes for their workers using sandstone from the area.
The walls are thick and the detailed stonework shows how skilled the builders were. These homes were among the first that companies built for their workers in America. Today, the buildings house shops, art galleries, and homes while keeping their original stone features.
Natural Features of the Lehigh Gorge
The Lehigh Gorge State Park covers 6,107 acres around Jim Thorpe, with cliffs and old forests of hemlock and white pine trees. The Lehigh River carved this gorge over millions of years, creating walls that rise hundreds of feet from the water’s edge. In the 1850s, loggers built dams to float timber down the river.
Now, nature has taken back most of the area. The park has many waterfalls, including Glen Onoko Falls with over 60 feet drop, though some trails need careful hiking.
Why the Opera House Has Perfect Sound
The Mauch Chunk Opera House, built in 1881, is one of the oldest theaters still standing in Pennsylvania. Its Second Empire style and sturdy construction helped it survive when other vaudeville theaters closed down.
The building has a ceiling which is about 5 stories tall and curved walls create perfect acoustics that performers still praise today. The original metal ceiling designs and wide stage remain unchanged, and the theater continues to host shows regularly.
The Canal System That Moved Mountains of Coal
Engineers finished the Lehigh Canal in 1829 after three years of hard work. They built 52 locks and dams to keep the water 5 feet deep along all 46 miles, something that hadn’t been done before.
By 1855, boats were moving millions of tons of coal each year to Philadelphia and New York City. You can walk the D&L Trail today and see the old locks, paths where mules once walked, and stone walls that helped boats navigate the canal.
Early Photographers Who Captured the Town
Photographers James Zellner and H.C. Adamson were among the first to document Jim Thorpe in the 1850s. They used new types of photography like daguerreotypes and wet plate collodion to show how the town was changing.
Many of their photos are now in the Library of Congress, showing what life was like during America’s Industrial Revolution. Photographers still come to capture the same views that caught people’s attention years ago.
Train Tracks Built Through Mountains
Building railroad tracks through Jim Thorpe in 1855 meant solving some tough problems. Workers built bridges that stretched across gaps and cut tunnels through solid rock.
One special section called the ‘Double Track’ required trains to climb high while making S-shaped turns through the mountains. These old train routes still work today, carrying trains through the same mountain passes they’ve used years ago.
How Nature Healed the Mining Land
After years of coal mining stripped away trees and turned the Lehigh River orange with acid mine drainage, Jim Thorpe’s land has made an amazing recovery. The conservation efforts are focused on areas like the Poconos Forests and Waters, greenways, trails, and open space, with plans to conserve land, revitalize communities, and engage the business sector for sustainable development.
The Lehigh River, once full of mining waste, is clean enough for many species of fish to live there. People come from all over to go whitewater rafting on the same river that was once too polluted for anything to survive.
The post Once Called “Mauch Chunk,” This Victorian Town Was Renamed After a Macabre Deal with an Olympian’s Widow appeared first on When In Your State.