By Natalya Bucuy • The Current Contributing Writer
One chilly winter afternoon, my boyfriend Joe and I, while strolling the charming streets of Jim Thorpe walked into the Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank (JTNB). The building, with its white pillars and arched windows, attracted us with its ornate and cheerful facade (and the promise of a chance to warm up from the cold.)
The interior presented elements of modern banking harmonized with the place’s rich history. Inside, we took some pictures with the festive Christmas tree and were greeted by the employees of the bank. They smiled, asked us where we were from, and even showed us the massive heavy vault door, an impressive feature of the bank. The kind and personable tellers offered us some sweet neighborly hospitality, living up to the bank’s name.
Like many places across Jim Thorpe borough, JTNB has a rich history. The original stone building that stood at the site of the bank at 12 Broadway was built in 1829, a decade after the founding of the town in 1818. In 1852, Rockwood, Hazard, and Company bought the building from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The new owner then started a private bank known as the “Savings Shoppe.”
Three years later, the directors of the new bank organized the Mauch Chunk Bank, the first chartered bank in Carbon County in 1855, on the site. In 1863, The First National Bank of Mauch Chunk replaced the venture and erected a new building, still standing today.
For the next one hundred years, the bank underwent several consolidations with other local and national financial entities. In 1988, JTNB Bancorp was incorporated. It continues to serve the local community through six offices, with the main banking office still operating at the site of the very first bank of Mauch Chunk.
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