*** Welcome to piglix ***

Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania (Mauch Chunk)
"The Switzerland of America"
"The Gateway to the Poconos"
Borough
Jim Thorpe PA A Packer House to St Marks.jpg
View of St. Marks from the Asa Packer Mansion grounds
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Carbon
Elevation 730 ft (222.5 m)
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
Area 14.8 sq mi (38.3 km2)
 - land 14.5 sq mi (38 km2)
 - water 0.3 sq mi (1 km2), 2.03%
Population 4,781 (2010)
Density 327.5/sq mi (126.4/km2)
Founded 1818
Mayor Mike Sofranko
Timezone EST (UTC-5)
 - summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 18229
Area code 570 Exchange: 325
FIPS code 42-38200
GNIS ID 1178082, 1215045
Map of Jim Thorpe, Carbon County, Pennsylvania Highlighted.png
Location of Jim Thorpe in Carbon County
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania is located in Pennsylvania
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Location of Jim Thorpe in Pennsylvania
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania is located in the US
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Location of Jim Thorpe in Pennsylvania
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 for burying 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.


...
Wikipedia

...