Important to note seeing as the town is named after him and famous for him, Jim Thorpe is not a local athlete. He is born and raised In Oklahoma. He never lived in or visited the town. He was an exceptional athlete who made it the Olympics and was the first Native American to win gold medals for the USA. After death, his remains were “bought” by the town in 1953 from his wife. they built a monument for him and renamed the town to gain notoriety and draw people in.

I'm a PA native and I've been around Europe as well..... I visited Jim Thorpe once last fall. It's a beautiful and very scenic town but I think it's a bit overkill to call it "The switzerland of America".... it is nothing like Switzerland. It has it's own charm and beauty. Just leave it at that. I feel like the town would benefit greatly from having some kind of Amtrak line going through it. Parking can be a nightmare depending when you go and traffic around the area is such a headache.

I live in Hazleton, 12 miles north of Jim Thorpe. It has become a very busy and growing area in the past few years. Glad to see others enjoying it. You missed the key story of the jail. Lore is an innocent man on day of his execution swore to god he was innocent and to this day his hand print on the wall. It wont wash away. The town is known for its antiques and homemade artwork as well. The Emporium of Curious goods store was a very original playhouse. It used to hold psychic mediums and all sorts of paranormal items. Very unique gem of the area. Fall is my favorite time there. Each weekend has different themes with local vendors in addition to the shops and winery.

Nice video..Worth visiting.. I was born 2 towns away from here.. The old name of Jim Thorpe was Mauch Chunk.. The pronunciation is "Mach Chunk" .. As far as the Molly Maguire there was movie made about this subject..Parts of the movie were actually filmed in this town !! I can remember as a child .. they covered many of the streets in dirt during filming.. For those that are interested.. The movie featured Sean Connery and Richard Harris in the movie.. One other cool thing to do there is to do a Whitewater Rafting trip down the Lehigh River..which cuts right through Jim Thorpe...

My sister Elissa Garofalo was instrumental in the revitalization of JT and more. She pioneered efforts which led to Jim Thorpe's main street (Broadway) being named one of the Great Places of America by the American Planning Association. During her 21-year tenure with the D&L, she had an enormous positive impact across the entire heritage area, in individual towns, and to the people she worked with. She left us way too soon on 2-15-23.

I love Pennsylvania. The architecture is amazing and was amazed that not many fences exist between houses. And in the country windows contain candles to light a strangers way just in case. Very friendly people. Can't wait to visit again and see Jim Thorpe.

Was born and raised in Pennsylvania south of there, but have lived in Europe for the past 30 years. Jim Thorpe seems like really well-preserved American culture -- reminds me of Mahanoy City where relatives of ours emigrated from Ireland. Can't really say I see any similarity to Switzerland [or Europe for that matter] but it has a great character of its own, a truly beautiful town. Must be very cosy to live there and you pointed out some great places to make it well worth visiting. Looking at a map I see that Mahanoy City and Jim Thorpe are ten minutes apart. No wonder they're similar!

My dad was born here before they changed the town's name. It originally was called Mauch Chunk pronounced Munkchunk. Every year we had a huge family reunion there, I miss it.

Great video. Great town. Wonderfully and enthusiastically narrated. Super job. Thank you.

Beautiful and interesting old town and area. I never heard of it before.

Loved it will return again

I went there 2 years ago with my daughter and one of her best friends from childhood,we absolutely loved 🥰 this town and I went to so many places when I was there.We also went up the mountain to the music 🎵 venue to see Sara Evans❤ what a great show and great food and shopping too !!

Great video. I discovered JT back in the late 80’s when it first started coming back to life. I hope that little diner is still there near the courthouse. Great memories!!

I was there a couple of times. Marvelous place and the scenic train ride through the Lehigh valley is spectacular

I grew up just on the other side of the Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey. I've heard about Jim Thorpe, but never went there. I'm glad to see it's really beautiful!

Great video! My wife and I visited for our five year anniversary and it was a wonderful trip! The train rides are really nice!! 🤗

I used to deliver for amazon in the more touristy part of that town and let me tell you, NO TOWN GAVE ME MORE ANXIETY. the roads are incredibly tight so you have no choice but to completely block traffic. tight corners and barely any address numbers. I'm sure being a tourist there is great. there's a train ride and plenty of places to go and eat, but delivering there is terrible.

The drive fron NJ is also real nice right on the mountains; great video brought me memories thanks

Thanks for the tour. Looks like a quaint lovely historic town to visit.

Been there when My husband and I lived in PA. It is a neat town. I like the feel about the town.

I live in Allentown PA. And I passed by Jim Thorpe several times and it's beautiful. Need to come back and take some pictures. And of course, great video. Very detailed and good information about the place.

I had no idea that this place existed. Wow what a find! Thanks for giving us this amazing tour and looking forward every week to more of your content.

What a cool town. It does really have a European vibe and I love how close it is to the mountains. I bet it is really nice around Christmas time. This is one I definitely have to see. Thank you for the fabulous tour.

Lovely place really! Thanks for a tour :)

Keep up the good work JP. You have some of the best videos on youtube!

Thanks , new addition to my "must see" list !

Beautiful place. Nicely done, thank you.

For those who do not like crowds. it is worth mentioning that there are times during the Fall, especially during their Fall festival that you can't get to this town by car. They have you park 20 minutes away and take a shuttle bus in. It is a nightmare and everything is packed!

Hey, I like it here it’s very nice. I love Jim Thorpe

Thanks for sharing! Loved your video. I will I admit I lol’d every time he said, “big mountains.” The east coast mountains are “big” in our hearts.

Dude this is actually crazy I’m 13 and have lived deep in the mountains of Jim Thorpe but spend a lot of time in town this is crazy you should take some time to learn about the Molly maguires and the crew also the Asa Packer mansion was a great addition

Honorable mention would be the D&L Trail that goes for miles North and South along the Lehigh River. Biking, Hiking, and Rafting are a must to try. If you bike/hike the D&L trail South from Jim Thorpe you have Weisport, Lehighton, and Slatington. All 3 towns are wonderful to see as well. The D&L trail is basically the RR path from back in the day. Many things to see and observe along the way.

Thank you. I had a friend in the service that was from Jim Thorpe. I got a kick out of my friend explaining how the name came to be!😊

Grew up in Jim Thorpe. Moved away in 2015 and have only been back once. I miss it.

as a Truck Driver being I'm always up & down I 476, I only know and been to the Jim Thorpe Travel Plaza on I 476.. but I figured there was a small town somewhere. absolutely beautiful town.

I always love it in fall it’s beautiful

Beautiful town...Great video!

This is a great documentary/informational video I really enjoyed it! The one thing about it is the music is so modern, I almost expected to hear the Andy Griffith whistling in the background lol. I'm planning on going up there this weekend on a train ride and we're going to spend a few hours up there and then have the train ride back to reading! So I'm really looking forward to it thanks for the suggestions!

Jim Thorpe has definitely blossomed as a tourist spot since the late 80s/early 90s. I live in the Lehigh Valley and spend quite a bit of time in the JT area hiking. Back in the early 90s I did loads of mountain biking and even worked during the summer as a mountain bike guide for one of the rafting/biking companies. The one thing I would add to your information would be the nearby outdoor activity locations like Mauch Chunk Lake, Hickory Run State Park, Lehigh Gorge State Park, Beltzvile State Park and loads of trails on Pennsylvania State Game lands in the area.

Great information going this weekend

Ten minutes from where we live in Lehighton, PA. Great little town, great people and lots to do.

The town is like a Victorian era town you would find in North Wales. It's absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for sharing.

Took the packer tour this past weekend and it was fantastic

I live a 45 min from Jim Thorpe. Always heard of it, never been -- but, it looks really awesome up there.

Thank you! Amazing

Just went white water rafting there this past July. First time there. About a 2 hour drive from where I live in NJ. Had a great time!

I live in the Poconos. I love this place so much as I’m a train guy and plenty of that there as well. I take my wife and get in the touring bike and head over a few times per year. In the summer it gets busy folks so be patient as it’s a small town packed with tourists.

I love the nostalgia of it

Great job my friend!! You are really great at this. I hope you get your own show on the travel channel or of the like. I very much enjoyed the masterful and professional way you shot this video.

I have been there lots of times very cool old town

Thanks for a great video

Interresting town.

You gave an exceptional review on this beautiful historic town. I am really impressed. I was just here a few days ago. I also made a video that will probably be released Monday. It’s gonna have a lot of drone shots of the town. Again- really nice job here. I liked and subscribed. Have a great day.👍

Live 30 minutes away. Thanks for representing!

I live 5 minutes away from Thorpe, it’s a cool place to visit. Nice place to take the motorcycle for a ride.

I had been there some of the stores the owners live in the secod floor, super friendly I got some spectacular photos too

Nice video presentation. You convinced me to go to Jim Thorpe for at least a day trip.

I lived a town over in Lehighton for a few years. Nice, scenic towns with neat shops.

I live 12 miles from JT. If you come here, be sure to explore the switchback trail, which you access right in JT. The D&L is a great trail f0r families to bike together, its level and easy. you can take the Lehigh Gorge trail all the way up to White Haven if you want, that whole area is very beautiful. And Hickory Run state park is adjacent to the Lehigh Gorge state park, so if you hike, trail run or bike this area is amazing. As for the town itself, I visit in the off season. Like many locals, we leave it to the tourists in the fall.

Went there a couple times with my Ex because she grew up going there. Very cool town, awesome to look into the history !

I lived there for a couple of years before I moved to Las Vegas. It is definitely a beautiful area.

Never heard of this town. What an interesting video. Greetings from Staten Island. Subscribed.👍👍

There is a town nearby that looks like it came out of the rocky mountains called Palmerton. I love that whole area, the AT trail goes through there, the views are great, and its affordable.

It’s very beautiful! I’m originally from NE Pennsylvania. It’s a beautiful state . ❤️

Nice town named after a great athlete. I'll have to visit it next time I am in PA.

Jim Thorpe is my favorite small town in Pennsylvania. It is very classy with some fine restaurants and art galleries. You won't find that in other small towns. Although a bit touristy it still seems authentic.

Very nice cinematography

I love 30 minutes from Jim Thorpe. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid. My great Aunt lived right on Broadway. Not sure what her house is now. It was a bed and breakfast at one time. Love Jim Thorpe

I live like around an hour from Jim Thorpe and it’s one of my favorite place to visit, we haven’t able to go this month in October to their fall event cause it’s been raining every Saturday 😢

Great town, we love it there. Like stepping back to when life and people were better!

Great video!

STROM BROTHERS Slate & Copper Roofers do a lot of the Slate and Copper Roofs in that area. They are one of the best Slate & Copper Roofers in the Nation. Top Quality materials and excellent craftsmanship.

Great video I live here. I’ve never heard the Switzerland reference before

Great little town. Stayed at The Dolan House with my wife for an anniversary. Best spot in town, and makes everything walkable. I highly recommend.

Parking is a BIG problem - The shops aren’t what they used to be. Not many left. Very pricey. The Packer mansions are pretty interesting. Parking is very costly these days.

Great way to look at this little town. Jim Thorpe was a famous athlete who played for Buffalo.

I was born and raised in Lehighton, just a couple of miles south of Jim Thorpe, and grew up during the time when Jim Thorpe was in pretty bad shape, long before it was cultivated into a tourist hub in the 80s. I no longer live in the area, but still visit occasionally, and have been in Jim Thorpe many, many times, had relatives living there, and remember it well. It has truly come a long way in the last several decades. Visitors might be interested to know that the film, "The Molly Maguires", starring Sean Connery, Richard Harris, and Samantha Eggar (you can Google where to watch it online), was filmed partly in downtown Jim Thorpe (when they went "into town" and to the courthouse) and the surrounding areas. They literally covered the streets in truck loads of dirt and repainted and covered the fronts of some of the buildings to resemble how the town looked during the Molly trials at the courthouse. The courthouse still looks as it did during the dangerous Molly days. It's sad that the famous Flagstaff Park and Dance Hall on top of the mountain directly over the town on the south side, is no longer open to the public. But I hear someone new bought it relatively recently. The views up there of the Lehigh Gorge are amazing, and I think you would have loved that. They used to hold Big Band dances up there every weekend....my mother and her sisters used to go there to dance in the 40s and 50s. Maybe one day developers will reopen it, or at least a lookout point for tourists, so keep an eye out. Also, on the other side of the concrete bridge, on the right, north of the train station, and continuing east to the top of the mountain, is the actual grave of Olympian Jim Thorpe, whom the town is named after. His Native American relatives have petitioned the town to get his remains returned to Oklahoma. But I haven't heard that it's actually going to happen. Anyway, I thought you'd want to know that there are a couple of minor errors in your video. First of all, the original Indian name for the town, Mauch Chunk, is pronounced "Mock" Chunk, not "Mawch" Chunk. And the senior railroad tycoon, Asa Packer, was a man. Harry Packer was his son. Thanks for the nice video of my old stomping grounds. Jim Thorpe looks particularly pretty during the holidays, especially with a couple of inches of snow on the ground, if you can time your visit just right! Just don't risk driving the Mansion House Hill coming into town in bad winter weather, or you could end up flying toward the Lehigh River a hundred feet below! Not kidding!

I use to live up here in Jim thorpe off and on since I was 13 years old give or take. I will say the best time to come up to Jim thorpe to visit would be during the fall season. There may not be that much up there to do but it's a nice quiet beautiful little town. Great video for sure

I visit regularly! JUST Love being there! ❤️💖❤️ Oh I live just to the south , in the Greater LEHIGH VALLEY Pennsylvania!

I think Lincoln New Hampshire has a more American Switzerland vibe it’s a beautiful town in the mountains of New Hampshire with so many beautiful sites to see but this town seems cool too I like the small streets and building designs it has own style which I like

Wife and I drove down from CT on many occasions to walk through here.

I live just south of Jim Thorpe in Montgomeryville Bucks County area. Have been going to Glen Ononko park for years. How things have changed. I can remember going there and it seemed like it was an unknown hidden gem with the waterfalls hiking up the side of the mountain to the top and also the train tunnel. Jumping off the bridge into the water below. It has definitely come about with time and has become a tourist attraction which is great for the community…….

Used to live in Lansford and went to Panther Valley high school. Also, use to run in the annual race back in the day. Not quite sure if they have their running races in Jim Thorpe anymore? Also, used to catch the Martz Trailways bus in Jim Thorpe to go to Atlantic City.

We love Jim Thorpe. We visit often and there is SO much to do. Don't forget to visit the candy store and get their hot chocolate with whip cream and marshmallows.

I live an hour from there, great little town

I live in Weatherly, pa, my husband n I go here often. We love JT. Check out sound check records. Great place for hard to find music and memorabilia. Also the opera house is awesome to catch a live show.

Wow dude, great video. I have been driving through JT for my whole life and never really stopped to look around. This makes me want to take a trip up there a check things out. I have been on the train ride, and I want to camp at 100 mile view. I hear the jail has some spooky stuff like ghost hand prints on the wall. I am gonna take the train ride again since I can take my dog. Have not been on the train since I was young.

We use to go there every fall ride the train adorable shops plus historical place about Jim famous sport player

Im surprised you didn't show Jim Thorpe's grave, an Olympic Gold Winner 🏆🥇. His Grave is amazing, fully adorned in the Spring and Summer months. Beautiful Place. ❤

Weird, I'm in philly for 60 years, I've heard of Jim Thorpe, but never heard it referred to as the "Switzerland of America"...PA is one of the best states in the U.S...

I’m from the area. Kinda neat to see. The train ride is a must

Corrections: The pronunciation is: Mock Chunk, not Moch Chunk. Jim Thorpe was indeed interred there, but he was ANYTHING but "local". Look that up. One thing they got right is, it's a beautiful town. Also, the name means "sleeping bear" in Leni Lenape - Delaware Indian.

I’ve known about it. It was a big thing in high school to go there/the Poconos with friends. I never been. 😭😭😭 Bucks PA.

I have a lot of family down there and in Palmerton. Beautiful area named for a versatile man

My daughter married a Thorpe and lives in Pennsylvania and yes they do have relatives that's up in the mountains

Bring approximately a wheelbarrow of dough unless you feel like sleeping on a cot in a closet somewhere. Lots of ooos and ahhhhs to LOOK at. As a sidebar tons of 2nd and third string 80s/90s bands have been playing there for the last 6 or 7 years.

The town is minimal. Bring your bike. Take the excursion train up the Lehigh River gorge, and ride your bike back, about 10 miles. It can get cold in the gorge when the sun is blocked by the cliffs. Bring something warm, even on a hot day. About June 1st, the hills erupt in rhododendron flowers.

The (Packer built) Episcopal Church is architecturally awesome ! Much nicer than the jail. The Packers also built the magnificent chapel on the campus of Lehigh University. 💒

I love that place I’m about 45 mins south of there and my wife and I go to Molly maguires for lunch all the time

My niblings and their mom live in Jim Thorpe. It's a cool place to visit.