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Jim Thorpe, PA

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Mauch Chunk
"The Switzerland of America"
"The Gateway to the Poconos"
View of St. Marks from the Asa Packer Mansion grounds
View of St. Marks from the Asa Packer Mansion grounds
Location of Jim Thorpe in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.
Location of Jim Thorpe in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.
Jim Thorpe is located in Pennsylvania
Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe is located in the US
Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Location of Jim Thorpe in Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°52′23″N 75°44′11″W / 40.87306°N 75.73639°W / 40.87306; -75.73639Coordinates: 40°52′23″N 75°44′11″W / 40.87306°N 75.73639°W / 40.87306; -75.73639
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Carbon
Founded 1818
Government
 • Mayor Mike Sofranko
Area
 • Total 14.92 sq mi (38.64 km2)
 • Land 14.60 sq mi (37.81 km2)
 • Water 0.32 sq mi (0.83 km2)
Elevation 730 ft (220 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 4,781
 • Estimate (2016) 4,607
 • Density 315.59/sq mi (121.85/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 18229
Area code(s) 570 Exchange: 325
FIPS code 42-025-38200
FIPS code 42-38200
GNIS ID 1178082, 1215045
Website www.jimthorpe.org

Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 4,781 at the 2010 census. The town has been called the "Switzerland of America" due to the picturesque scenery, mountainous location, and architecture; as well as the "Gateway to the Poconos." It is in eastern Pennsylvania about 80 miles (130 km) north of Philadelphia and 100 miles (160 km) west of New York City. This town is also historically known as the burial site for the body of Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe.

Jim Thorpe was founded as Mauch Chunk /ˌmɔːk ˈʌŋk/, a name derived from the term Mawsch Unk (Bear Place) in the language of the native Munsee-Lenape Delaware peoples: possibly a reference to Bear Mountain, an extension of Mauch Chunk Ridge that resembled a sleeping bear, or perhaps the original profile of the ridge, which has since been changed heavily by 220 years of mining. The company town was founded by Josiah White and his two partners, founders of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company (LC&N). The town would be the lower terminus of a gravity railroad, the Summit Hill & Mauch Chunk Railroad, which would bring coal to the head of the Lehigh Canal for transshipment to the Delaware River, 43 kilometres (26.7 mi) downstream. It would thereby connect LC&N's coal mines to Philadelphia, Trenton, New York City, and other large cities in New Jersey and Delaware, and by ocean to the whole East Coast.


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