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Jim Thorpe is a beautiful small town, but it is also one of the most popular destinations in PA. Because of this, it’s worth giving some thought to when you visit. Sweet memories are made in historic Jim Thorpe, and adventurers both young and old are welcome. Hugos has rediscovered photography, particularly medium-format film. He developed quite a following over the years for his beautiful images and videos on the opera house’s Instagram and Facebook pages. “I started my own Instagram account after lots of folks inquired about my pictures and posts, wondering what happened to me.
Pennsylvania Nearby Towns
Jim Thorpe owes its existence to the coal mines in the mountains west of town, and the Number 9 Coal Mine and Museum is a great spot to visit if you want to learn about the area’s rich history with anthracite coal. The roots of Jim Thorpe stretch back to the early nineteenth century when Josiah White, the founder of the town, discovered how to effectively use Anthracite coal as an energy source. The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was created and began mining operations in the surrounding hills at locations like the No. 9 Coal Mine & Museum. Innovative techniques were used to transport the coal, including dams, locks and canals along the Lehigh River as well as a Switchback Gravity Railroad which is known as one of the oldest roller coasters in the world.
Too many seats
If you are feeling thirsty (and not driving), get a full liter of your favorite beer. If you want to learn more about the history of Jim Thorpe/Mauch Chunk, the best spot to visit is the Mauch Chunk Museum. Jim Thorpe is also known for its many great restaurants, and while getting a table on a busy weekend can sometimes be an issue, you won’t regret sitting down for a meal here.
Switchback Railroad Trail
His crypt was sealed with soil from his hometown in the Sac and Fox nation, the track fields from the Stockholm Olympics, and the grounds of the Carlisle Industrial Indian School. In 2007, a life-sized bronze statue of Thorpe in his football uniform was erected at the memorial. And so, in 1954, Mauch Chunk merged with East Mauch Chunk and became Jim Thorpe and the Carbon County seat. A prominent Carbon County town, Mauch Chunk remained a booming industrial and transportation center for more than a century. However, as the coal industry diminished and the Great Depression’s effects took hold, the town faced economic challenges.
10 Best Towns in Pennsylvania for a Winter Getaway - Worldatlas.com
10 Best Towns in Pennsylvania for a Winter Getaway.
Posted: Sat, 16 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Start out easy on a beginner trail like Switchback, which is all downhill due to its former life as a gravity railroad route and graduate to the advanced Twin Peaks (/trails.htm). Blue Mountain Sports and Wear offers one-day bike rentals for $27 (). The snow doesn't fly until December here, but once it does it sticks around for months, transforming this rugged corner of the state into a winter sport playground.
Arts & Culture/Entertainment
This museum is located within a historic church and offers a wealth of information about the region from its Native American past through the present day. The working models of the early dams on the Lehigh River and the Switchback Railroad are very detailed and do a great job showcasing the area’s history. Jim Thorpe, PA is located in Carbon County in the Poconos region of the state. It was originally known as Mauch Chunk and was one of the first coal boom towns in the United States. However, in 1954, the town changed its name to Jim Thorpe to honor the great athlete of the same name who is now buried on the edge of town. Free Range Folk came together in 2010 over longstanding interests in farming, family, a back-to-basics lifestyle, and general love of the outdoors and music.
The park is centered around a beautiful lake that is home to a popular beach during the summertime. There are also several miles of hiking and biking trails, including the aforementioned Switchback Railroad Trail. This train leaves from the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey train station at the northeastern end of town near the Lehigh River. While there are a variety of excursions you can take, the most popular options are their daily sightseeing tours, which are either 45 minutes or 70 minutes in length depending on the season. Parking, on the other hand, can be difficult to come by, especially on weekends in October (when it’s a great spot to see fall foliage in PA) and during the holiday season.
Along with these sports, Jim Thorpe is popular among railroading fans for its passenger rail service, and is known for its extraordinary architecture. The town grew slowly in its first decade, then rapidly around 1818 grew larger as it became an anthracite coal-shipping center. (The other large city with growing coal mining in the region was Scranton, with a population of over 140,000.) Mauch Chunk is on a Lehigh River west side (right bank) flat where Mahoning Creek enters and is a tributary of the Lehigh River. The river's left bank community of East Mauch Chunk, which has more of the houses of modern Jim Thorpe, was settled later to support the short-lived Beaver Creek Railroad, the mines which spawned it, and the logging industry. The most popular route is to bike upriver through Lehigh Gorge State Park, with more than 20 miles of uninterrupted trail allowing you to bike to near White Haven, PA. On select days, the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway runs biking excursions that allow you to take the train upriver, and then bike back down the trail.
The Grand Finale: Dan Hugos, Co-Founder of Mauch Chunk Opera House Shows, Retires
In the 1950s Mauch Chunk looked for unique ways to escape poverty and despair. This mine was the longest-running anthracite coal mine in the world operating from 1855 until 1972. There are miles of tunnels here, some of which extend as far as 800 feet below the earth’s surface. The Switchback Railroad Trail extends for 18 miles from Jim Thorpe to Summit Hill, where the original coal mines were located. The railroad tracks are long gone, though you can still see some remnants from its past along the trail. Bright Path Brewing features a beautiful and airy taproom, and, during my visit, had 10 beers on draft, including a larger variety of lagers than many other breweries in PA that I’ve visited.
Pennsylvania Route 903 has its southern terminus at U.S. 209 in Jim Thorpe. It is a north–south route that runs northeast of town, connecting to PA 115 near the Pocono Raceway, Interstate 476, and PA 534 in Penn Forest Township. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. In the musical sense, yacht rock refers to the highly polished brand of soft rock that emanated from Southern California between 1976 and 1984. The term is meant to suggest the kind of smooth, mellow music that early yuppies likely enjoyed while sipping champagne on their yachts. Significant "yacht rockers" include Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Toto and many more.
With the mountainous setting and the quaint charm of the town, Jim Thorp’s tourism soared. Fortunately, the town didn’t have enough funds to bulldoze many of its dilapidated buildings as it originally planned. Among those are the Mauch Chunk Opera House and the Inn at Jim Thorpe. Since the town’s rebirth, storefronts and homes on Race and Broad Streets have been welcoming visitors with their unique charm and history. Now a fine inn, The Dolon House features the art, antiques and collections of four decades of travel by innkeepers Jeffri and Michael. Welcoming, comfortable and elegant along with all the service and amenities you would expect, your visit to Jim Thorpe will be special.
But for Dan Hugos, the founder of JTAMS with business partner Vincent DeGiosio, the company that produces shows at the opera house, it’s the final curtain. After 19 years, he sold his shares of the company to DeGiosio, and has retired. “I’ve recently been diagnosed with a neurological disease, so maintaining my health has been the number one priority for me. In the later part of the 20th century, outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, kayaking, and white water rafting gained popularity.
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