by John Drury and Barbara Mumma • Special to The Current
The Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center Inc. is open for visitors and is located on the first floor of the building at 41 W. Broadway in Jim Thorpe. This award-winning museum is dedicated to the local and nearby history.
“The Story of Mauch Chunk,” the theme of the museum’s core exhibition, leads the visitor through the ages from the geological formation of coal in prehistoric times to the present. It focuses on such topics as the Lenape Indians, the discovery and mining of “black diamonds” (anthracite coal), the settlement of Mauch Chunk, the scramble to build waterways and railroads to transport coal to eastern seaboard cities, the unique Switchback Gravity Railroad, and Mauch Chunk in its industrial golden age. Its decline and revival as the town of Mauch Chunk became Jim Thorpe in 1954 – repository for the body of the great native American Olympian. The theme is struggle, prosperity, decline and revival, the legacy, the architectural and natural beauty that is today’s Jim Thorpe.
Supplementing pictorial exhibits are period artifacts, tourist souvenirs and unique working models of (1) Josiah White’s ingenious “bear trap lock” which permitted trains of coal arks to navigate the Lehigh River (2) a standard lock on the Lehigh Canal and (3) a 30 ft. model of the Switchback Gravity Railroad which connected the anthracite mine at Summit Hill with the Lehigh River nine miles distant. Built for the transportation of coal, the Switchback became the ultimate thrill roller coaster of 19th century rail excursionists, thrusting the small industrial town of Mauch Chunk into second place behind Niagara Falls as a tourist destination. A 14-minute video presentation introduces and prepares the visitor for their upcoming tour. Our aim at the Mauch Chunk Museum is to preserve out history on a local level so that we may tell and add to “the story.”
The Mauch Chunk Museum & Cultural Center is currently open for visitors in May on weekends Friday through Sunday, and special opening on Memorial Day, Monday May 30th. Extended hours are from June through October five days a week, Friday through Tuesday, from 11am to 5pm. For November and December, the schedule returns to the 3-day weekend schedule of Friday through Sunday up until the weekend prior to Christmas. Admissions is $10.00 per person for 12 years and older and children 11 and under are free. Walk-thru visits are $7.50 per person. Group rates available. Telephone number is 570-325-9190. Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/MauchChunkMuseum.
The second floor of the building features a “grand ballroom” used for wedding receptions, corporate events, and museum sponsored events. This beautiful space can accommodate 150 people and is available for rental. “The Ballroom” has been open for 19 years. The project of restoration of that area started in 2002 and then officially opening in 2004. For ballroom information contact: Dana Reed, our Special Events Coordinator at 516-375-7407 or email her at: ballroomatmauchchunkmcc@gmail.com
Upcoming Special Event in our 2nd Floor Ballroom on Sat. & Sun., May 21 & 22:
We will present a special program for the Jim Thorpe Birthday Celebration Weekend in our grand ballroom on Sat. & Sunday, May 21 & 22, 2022, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Host Ryan Kautz will explore our special Indian heritage and show a historical video presentation in our Ballroom.
The Kemmerer Carriage House Reopens for Visitors in May
Friday – Sunday, May 20-22 &
Friday-Monday May 27-30, 12-5PM
Enjoy hearing our Kemmerer Carriage House story and our local history as told by our hostess and see a short video. This includes key players, and transition from the untamed river valley to the industrial outpost of Mauch Chunk that truly played a pivotal role in the American Industrial Revolution. The Kemmerer Carriage House is reopening for weekend visitors Friday through Sunday for May 20-22 and for Memorial Weekend, Friday through Monday, May 27-30, 12-5 PM. Expanded summer and fall hours for visitors are from June through October five days a week: Friday through Tuesday, 12-5PM. For winter weekends in November and December we are open 3 days a week: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 12:00-5:00 PM. (This is weather permitting due to possible snow or ice). Admission is by donation. (Suggested $5 per person.)
One of the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Centers’s preservation projects involved the restoration of The Kemmerer Carriage House. The Kemmerer Carriage House is a tribute to the “Front Hill” Families and the Millionaire’s of early Mauch Chunk. It is located in Jim Thorpe at 20 Packer Hill Road, across from the Asa and Harry Packer Mansions next to Kemmerer Park. This is a preservation project of the Kemmerer Park Board, the Mauch Chunk Museum, and the Kemmerer Family Foundation. Restoration was started in 2008 and was completed in the spring of 2019. The carriage house is an amazing look at the past. It was built in 1878 and 1879. The visitor steps back in time to Mauch Chunk’s beginnings in 1818 and learns about life in the days of mining anthracite coal, canal boats, and railroads. Our vision is that the carriage house’s beauty will be appreciated as it once was. Please take time to explore Kemmerer Park. It can be enjoyed in all seasons of the year.
For more information visit https://www.loc8nearme.com/pennsylvania/jim-thorpe/mauch-chunk-museum-and-cultural-center/7276191
Add Comment