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Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
In the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania sits a town that looks like it belongs in the Alps. Jim Thorpe, formerly called Mauch Chunk (meaning ‘Sleeping Bear’ in the Lenni Lenape language), got its new name in 1954 to honor the famous Olympic athlete.
The town has peaks that reach 1,519 feet high, and the Lehigh River winds through its valley past buildings that look like they’re from a Swiss village. During the Industrial Revolution, this busy mining town shipped over a million tons of coal each year. Now, it’s a popular tourist spot where history meets outdoor adventure.
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How Two Towns Became Jim Thorpe
When Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe died in 1953, his third wife Patricia struck an unusual deal with two struggling towns, Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk. In exchange for taking the athlete’s name, they built a large red marble monument and received permission to make the town his final resting place…