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The Asa Packer Mansion Museum in Jim Thorpe is about 45 miles from Wilkes-Barre Public Square.

Times leader file photo

Nestled along the Lehigh River, the small borough of Jim Thorpe serves as one of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s best kept secrets. With a combination of rich historical attractions, narrow winding roads, and a welcoming atmosphere, the borough that stretches out of a river gorge truly has something for everyone.

Originally named Mauch Chunk, Jim Thorpe was first settled in the early 19th century by miners after a large deposit of coal was discovered in the region. In 1954, Mauch Chunk formally changed its name to “Jim Thorpe,” after the famous Olympic athlete who attended college in Carlisle. The borough had Thorpe’s remains moved from his home state of Oklahoma to their newly named town where they are present today.

One of the borough’s most renounced attractions is the Asa Packer Mansion Museum, which was built by philanthropist, railroad tycoon and founder of Lehigh University, Asa Packer in the mid-1800s. The mansion served as the home of Asa Packer until his death on May 17, 1879.

The building was designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan in 1861 and constructed over a two-year period. The three-story mansion is complete with 18 rooms, approximately 11,000 square feet of living space, a cast iron frame and a red-ribbed tin roof.

In 1912, Mary Packer Cummings (Asa Packer’s daughter) willed the mansion to the borough of Mauch Chunk to serve as a memorial in remembrance of her father. Forty-four years later in 1956, the mansion was opened to the public as a local attraction, hosting tours for visitors. Today, the mid-19th century building serves as one of Jim Thorpe’s crown jewels as it is one of the only “preservations,” left in the Northeast.

Ava Bretzik, director and historian at the Asa Packer Mansion, explained the building is approximately 98 percent original from when it was first built. “The Asa Packer Mansion is an original fixture, when you walk in the doors you walk back to the 1860s,” Bretzik said. “We are the only home that you can say that because everything else has been either restored or piecemealed and we are not, we are kept intact.”

Aside from the classic architecture and detailed craftsmanship the mansion is home to a slew of notable items, such as the original chandelier that was copied for the 1939 movie Gone with the Wind, the only working model of a 1905 model D Grand Welte Cottage Orchestrion in the United States, a host of the Packer family possessions. It is completely furnished with original pieces from the time period in which the mansion was built.

“Because we have so much, everyone should find something that interests them when they come through the house,” said Bretzik.

If you go

What: Asa Packer Mansion Museum

When: May 31-Oct. 31, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; weekends only November and early December; closed mid-December-March; weekends only April and May

Where: Jim Thorpe historic district

From Public Square: 45 miles

How much: Adults (19-54), $8; seniors (55+), $7; students (6-18), $5; 5 and younger free

More info: 570-325-3229 or www.asapackermansion.com