Historic Jim Thorpe, PA
This post concludes the three part series of my road trip to the Pocono Mountains. You can say “I saved the best for last”. I have always seen and heard of the small town that is filled with history, unique charm and ghosts all over television and tourist reading materials. So when I was staying about 25 minutes away, I knew that I had to come to see if the town lived up to the hype. It did and Jim Thorpe, Pa has stolen my heart!
The town of was founded in 1818, originally called Mauch Chunk meaning “Sleeping Bear”. This area was known for mining back in the day. Mauch Chunk was a booming place when it came to the industrial revolution but slowly in the 20th century the population and work dwindled. Which led the town in a decline of population, tourist traffic and profit. So when Native American Olympian Jim Thorpe died in 1953, his wife deiced to help the town by telling them to rename it after her late husband. He never lived in Jim Thorpe but he had been to the Carlisle School near by. So he had some form of connection to the place. By renaming the town in 1954, there was an increase of interest in the little town. I feel I may have never heard of the town if it did not get an updated name. Since I have given some of a background story on the town of Jim Thorpe, let me tell you why I adore this place.
When entering the town you do see the train station and visitor center. I suggest stopping there to get the map and overview book from them, it helps guide you and tell some historical facts. You really cannot see much until you round the corner onto the main road called Broadway. That is when my eyes set upon what seemed to be a sleepy little town from a movie set or fairy tale book. It was fairly quiet, granted it was a Monday and the visitor center said the town get’s busier on the weekend. Which is true since we came back on Saturday and it was filled with hundreds of people! All of the locals were friendly and loved to talk to us about the area, which was welcoming. Vibrant colored Victorian houses as well as older homes or previous establishments of coal miners to the elite, have been transformed into stores, restaurants and places of interest. Each are unique and none are quite alike. The community is immersed in the historical aspect for visitors to get a glimpse of the past. Many establishments are named after historical events, people and keep up the inside of buildings to be original as can be. I felt as if was in a time slip of past and present, waiting to see someone from another time appear out of a store front or house going about their day.
Walking along Broadway Street, I found that there is definitely a mystical vibe about the place. There are a handful of stores that are spiritual, all natural to second hand treasures. The New Age / Victorian store The Emporium of Curious Goods also known as Mauch Chumk General Emporium I could have spent days in with all the books, Halloween decor and incense. I did stock up on wonderful smelling essential oils from them. Another store that had caught my fancy was The Artsy Olive. It is filled with all kinds of spices, herbs, oils, and soup mixtures. What is nice is the store has samples you can try to see if you like anything before purchasing, Th owners were amazing and loved to help find something you may enjoy.
Cafes’ and restaurants’ named after books, such as my favorites Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter, made appearances quite a lot. I am a caffeine lover and had to control myself when the smells of coffee drifted out the opens windows. I did cave when we saw the Woods Ice Cream store because I saw they had cappuccino as a flavor. Yet when I got closer to the menu I found they had Nutella as a soft serve and quickly changed my mind. Hands down that was the best ice cream flavor I have ever had. Over all the food was amazing in Jim Thorpe! Many places had live music through out the day to listen to while eating. Lastly there are a lot of museums and historical spots to see. We did check out the top one everyone mentioned to visit The Old Jail. It is only open on weekends and is filled to the brim on local lore and history. I loved touring it and put me in the Halloween mood!
The town breathes history and a “home” feeling, that I never wanted to leave it. Personally my sister told me “she could see me living there” and I replied with “you may have to drag me home, because I might find a place to live”. It is a gem hidden in the mountains. To me it showed what life was before in the sense of going with the flow, simple and living in the present with family and locals. I can promise you that I will be back there many more times in my life, it will happen. There was a lot of places that I did not go inside so I have a motive to return. If you love history, great food, ghosts stories, shopping and old world charm this is the place for you. I know it was for me. Who knows maybe one day while visiting, you may find me running around happily in the town.
If you have any questions about any place I saw on my travels comment below or contact me!