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Mauch chunk opera house in jim thorpe pa professional#

The company town was the lower terminus of the 8-mile Switchback Gravity Railroad that transported coal from the surrounding hills to barges on the Lehigh Canal.

Jim Thorpe has been named one of the Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America and in 2012 was selected the fourth most beautiful town in America.Ĭoal was king in Jim Thorpe's early years.The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway is a popular tourist attraction and nearby Lehigh Gorge State Park features numerous trails and waterfalls.The area has become a mecca for mountain biking and hiking and is also a popular rafting destination. The expanded Lehigh Gorge Rail Trail offers bicyclists many options complete with shuttle service.Included on the schedule this spring are Jeff Daniels and Suzy Bogguss as well as some of the best known Irish singers and dancers during March. It's become a favorite spot for tribute bands as well as some top-name entertainers.

The Mauch Chunk Historical Society saved the town's 130-year-old opera house from ruin and reopened it in 2003 as a live-music venue.

Many of the town's old buildings and homes have been restored it's not unusual to find the town's bed and breakfast inns, guest homes and hotels filled most weekends. Today, tourism is the town's top industry and events are planned throughout the year to capitalize on the town's history and geographic location. As the popularity of bicycling and hiking increased, so did tourism in Jim Thorpe. While an economic and tourism boom did not materialize right away, by the 1980s the town was undergoing a renaissance as outsiders discovered its charm and natural amenities. It wasn't until 1983 that his medals were reinstated and his name was placed back in the Olympic record book as the only athlete to win the pentathlon and decathlon in the same Games. In one of the most tragic of all sports stories, Thorpe's two Olympic medals from the 1912 Games were stripped away because he was paid for playing two semi-professional baseball seasons prior to the Olympics, at the time a violation of amateur status rules. Although he was never in the town, he does have a connection to the area starting his athletic career at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School about 100 miles away. Each year, the town has a two-day event to honor the athlete who excelled in track and field, football and baseball. She and town officials struck a deal and the athlete's remains were moved to the town renamed Jim Thorpe. His home state of Oklahoma had refused to erect a memorial in his honor.

Mauch chunk opera house in jim thorpe pa professional#

In 1954, Jim Thorpe's third wife, Patricia, was looking for a town to pay homage to her late husband with a fitting memorial to commemorate his Olympic, professional and amateur sports achievements. Amazingly, residents contributed $30,000 in nickels within a few years. In the 1950s – in an effort to kick start its dragging economy – the town started a “Nickel a Week” campaign to raise money for the collective good, according to a history of the town. (Mauch Chunk means Bear Place in the native Munsee-Lenape Native American language.) The town changed its name in 1954 from Mauch Chunk to Jim Thorpe, a story that has to rank as one of the most unusual in American history. It's become a favorite location in the Poconos for those who love the out-of-doors and recreation. Today, the county seat of Carbon County is known as the Switzerland of America for its picturesque scenery and varied architectural styles. Once a bustling coal and railroad town, it fell on hard times that were so desperate residents resorted to raising nickels to search for an economic development boost. The town – founded in 1818 – nestled in the shadow of Bear Mountain beside the Lehigh River has had to redefine itself several times. Jim Thorpe, Pa., has a unique history that includes a name change.