Have You Looked In Your Backyard?

Recently I did a book-signing in a small town near my home, Jim Thorpe, Pa. The town has been dubbed Little Switzerland of America because of the way it is nestled in between three mountains. Its original name, before being renamed after the great Olympic athlete, Jim Thorpe, was Mauch Chuck which means sleeping bear.

Many of you might recall the 1970 movie ‘The Molly Mcguires’, starring Richard Harris and Sean Connery. It was based on the stories of the Irish coal miners of this town and filming did occur in Mauch Chuck.

Now, I’ve been to Jim Thorpe many times. I’ve driven through it on my way north. I’ve even did lunch and some shopping there ( And believe me they have a lot of great shops and yummy places to eat), but I’ve never visited its most famous landmark until yesterday when my DH and I went back, celebrating our anniversary. The landmark, The Asa Packer Mansion.



Isn’t it beautiful? I wish I had a picture from the top of the mountain looking down on the charismatic town, showing casing this stately manor.

This beautiful Victorian landmark was built in 1861 by Asa Packer who was born in Mystic, Connecticut, and after working as a farmer in CT and as a carpenter in New York came to Mauch Chuck in 1833. Here he became the owner of a canal boat which carried coal to Philadelphia. Later, Packer established the firm of A. & R. W. Packer, which built canal-boats and locks for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. In 1851 he gained the majority of stock for the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad Companies and formed the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company.

Packer was also active in politics. In 1841 and 1842 he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1843-1848, he was county judge of Carbon County under Governor David R. Porter. He served two terms as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1853. In 1868, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination. He got the party's nod for the 1869 Pennsylvania Governor's race, but lost the campaign to John W. Geary by 4,596 votes, one of the closest statewide races in Pennsylvania history.

In 1865 he gave $500,000 and 115 acres in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for a technical school. Lehigh University was chartered in 1866, and its main building, Packer Hall, was completed in 1869. For the first 26 years of Lehigh's existence, the university was tuition free. Way To Go ASA!



(View of mountains from the huge front porch)

Asa and Sarah Packer’s home is beyond amazingly beautiful. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside. But if you go here http://www.asapackermansion.com you can peek at the dining room and sitting. Believe me, the pictures do not do justice to the splendor of the house.

What is really amazing about this home is Asa and Sarah’s daughter, Mary, upon her death had willed the estate to the town of Mauch Chuck as a memorial for her father. The town didn’t know what to do with it and boarded it up. For 44 years, the house remained sealed with all of its valuables inside and not once was it vandalized.


Next to the Asa Packer Mason, stands the Harry Packer house. Asa and Sarah had built the house as a place for his engineers and other guests to stay. It house was later given to their son Harry and his wife Gussie as a wedding present. It too, stood in disrepair for many years before being brought in the 1980’s and turned into a beautiful B&B. If the Harry Packer house looks familiar and you’ve been to Disney World, you’ll know why. Disney used the house as the design for their haunted house.


All this was in my backyard and I never knew the whole story. You can bet I’m going back to Mauch Chuck to learn more about the little town and its past. I hear they have ghost walks. Perfect for October.

For more pictures of my trips to Jim Thorpe visit Autumn Jordon's Fan Page on FaceBook and remember to like it. WINK Thanks.