Jim Thorpe (Pennsylvania)

Carbon County

42-38200

Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2000, Jim Thorpe had 4,804 inhabitants; until the official 2009 estimate, the population increased to 4,883.

Geography

The municipal area has a size of 38.3 km ².

History

The town was founded in 1818 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company as Mauch Chunk quickly became a railway and coal shipping center. 1876, the city was the site of the trial of Molly Maguires, which led to the hanging of four people who were spoken guilty of murder.

The communities Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk merged and adopted the name of Jim Thorpe after the death of Olympic athletes in 1953 to attract tourism in the hope and help the economy. The community is also known as " Switzerland of America ". It received its nickname due to the picturesque scenery, mountainous location, and their architecture.

Demographic data

In the last official census in 2000, lived in Jim Thorpe 4,804 inhabitants in 1,967 households and 1,335 families. The population was composed of 98.36 % White, 0.62% Black and 0.27 % Asian. Hispanics or Latinos represented 0.83% of the population. The per capita income was 17 119 U.S. dollars and 7.8% of families and 10.0 % of the population lived below the poverty line.

Memorable people

• Edward C. Kalbfus, former admiral of the United States Navy
• John Weaver, organist

Pictures

Historic buildings on Broadway

Intersection of Broadway and Lehigh Ave

Belfry

County Jail