Asa Packer Mansion

Asa Packer Mansion
Asa Packer Mansion, September 2004
Location Packer Rd., Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°51′50″N 75°44′16″W / 40.86389°N 75.73778°WCoordinates: 40°51′50″N 75°44′16″W / 40.86389°N 75.73778°W
Built 1852
Architect Samuel Sloan
Architectural style Late Victorian, Other
Governing body Local
NRHP Reference # 74001765
Significant dates
Added to NRHP December 30, 1974[1]
Designated NHL February 4, 1985[2]
Designated PHMC May 14, 1971[3]

The Asa Packer Mansion, in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States, was the home of Asa Packer (1805–1879), coal and railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh University. It is one of the best preserved Italianate Villa homes in the United States.[2]

History

Packer commissioned it to be built in what was then the Borough of Mauch Chunk. It was completed in 1861.[4] The architect was Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia who also designed the Southern Mansion Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, and Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi.

Museum

Upon the death of Mary Packer Cummings, Mr. Packer's daughter, the home was willed to the Borough of Mauch Chunk to remain as a memorial to her father and his many accomplishments. The borough, not certain what to do with the home, closed it, and for 44 years the home sat idle. The Jim Thorpe Lions Club, looking to sponsor a new community project, approached the borough about opening the home.

The home is owned by the town of Jim Thorpe and financially controlled by the Jim Thorpe Lions Club. Ava M. Bretzik is the Director and Historian of the Mansion Museum and oversees the day-to-day operations.

The house contains the original furnishings. It became a museum, the Asa Packer Mansion Museum, and was opened for tours on Memorial Day of 1956.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974,[1] and was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985.[2][4] It is located in the Old Mauch Chunk Historic District.

It is located on Packer Avenue in Jim Thorpe. The home of Packer's son, Harry Packer Mansion, designed by Sloan's protegee Addison Hutton, is on the same road, and is also listed on the National Register.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Asa Packer Mansion". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  3. ↑ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Carolyn Pitts (August 10, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Asa Packer Mansion" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 5 photos, interior only, undated PDF (806 KB)

External links