“She was a huge advocate for tourism promotion,” recalls Gwen Thomas, a long-time Jim Thorpe resident and pharmacist. When the late Agnes McCartney moved to Carbon County - where Jim Thorpe is located - in 1955, she quickly realized that tourism was the region’s way out of economic depression. Despite the controversy the renaming caused among the town’s natives, a mausoleum was erected to house Thorpe’s remains three years later.Īfter a number of fits and starts, revitalization efforts really gained traction in the 1980s, and several decades later, Jim Thorpe has become, once again, a destination for tourists of all stripes. Then in 1954, local newspaper reporter Joe Boyle spearheaded the acquisition of national sports hero Jim Thorpe’s remains, as well as the renaming of the town. By the mid-1900s, the area was economically depressed with few prospects for revitalization.
As the automobile replaced rail as the preferred mode of transit, and as petroleum replaced coal for household heating and industrial use, Mauch Chunk fell into decline. Unfortunately, Mauch Chunk’s status as a high-class travel destination didn’t last. “By the turn of the 20th century, Mauch Chunk was second only to Niagara Falls as the most visited place in the country,” says John Drury, owner of the historic Inn at Jim Thorpe and founder of the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center. In the mid-1800s, the Lehigh Valley Railroad extended freight and passenger service to Mauch Chunk, bringing a wave of tourists flocking to what was then called the “Switzerland of America.” Urbanites couldn’t resist the lure of the town’s idyllic mountain landscape, and they were encouraged by easy rail access and the beautiful hotels waiting to welcome them to a holiday in the country. Coal was shuttled from the nearby mountains to Mauch Chunk, where it was loaded onto barges bound for cities such as Philadelphia and Trenton. Originally established in 1818 as Mauch Chunk - a name derived from the Lenni Lenape Native American term for “sleeping bear” - the town quickly became a transportation hub for the coal mining industry.
And with the recently opened Jim Thorpe/Lake Harmony exit off the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, it’s easier than ever to get there. Located some eighty miles north of Philadelphia, this charming hamlet has been transformed into an exciting destination for those seeking out history, culture, local eats and outdoor fun. Many of these river towns are rich in industrial history and natural beauty, with the river playing a prominent role.
Numerous towns are nestled along the Lehigh River, which begins in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania and travels south to Easton, where it joins the mighty Delaware.
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