Take a guided tour of this historic Pocono Mountains mansion. Built in the Victorian Italianate architecture style in 1861, this beautiful home was the residence of Asa Packer. Among his many accomplishments, the multi-millionaire built the Lehigh Valley Railroad and founded Lehigh University. Today, you will see his mansion just as it stood during Packer's lifetime. Remember to call in advance to confirm the hours of operation.

The winding mountain streets of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania are rich in history. Back at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the town was known as Mauch Chunk, more millionaires lived here than in any other place in the country. Most made their fortunes through mining the rich anthracite coal deposits in the surrounding mountains, and their elegant Victorian mansions can still be seen at the bottom of Broadway Street. But if you follow Broadway further up the hill, you’ll find the Carbon County Jail standing sentinel above the town. Now home to the Old Jail Museum, this building was once at the center of the infamous Molly Maguires mining conflict. By the 1870s, Irish immigrants formed a large portion of the local workforce. They faced discrimination and dangerous conditions both in the mines and aboveground, as violence and conflicts were common in the area. As miners worked to unionize, the president of the Reading Railroad hired a Pinkerton detective to infiltrate the group and gather evidence against an alleged secret society of destructive Irish immigrants called the Molly Maguires. Ultimately, 20 men were sentenced to death based on the detective’s testimony, and 7 were hung on the gallows in the Old Jail’s courtyard. But the guilt of the Molly Maguires is still debated today. One of the condemned Irishmen put his left hand on the wall of cell 17 and proclaimed that his handprint would remain as proof of his innocence. Pay a visit to the Old Jail Museum to examine it for yourself! You’ll also be walking the same hallways as Sean Connery, who starred in a 1970 movie about the Molly Maguires that was filmed on the premises.

When you look up at the imposing Victorian façade of the Harry Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe, you may think grim grinning ghosts are about to come out to socialize. That’s because this building was referenced by Disney imagineers when they designed the Haunted Mansion attraction at Walt Disney World! Built in 1874 and designed by the architect Addison Hutton, this historic luxury inn was originally the home of Harry Packer. Harry was born in the town of Jim Thorpe, then known as Mauch Chunk, and was the youngest son of industrialist and philanthropist Asa Packer. Harry graduated from the university founded by his father, Lehigh University, in 1870 and married Augusta Lockhart in 1872. Asa lived in the other mansion on the hill just a stone’s throw away, now a museum and another stop along the Pocono History Trail. He had the Harry Packer Mansion built as a wedding gift for his son and his wife. Harry later succeeded his father as a leader in town and as president of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Today, the mansion is a bed and breakfast where guests can book an overnight stay to surround themselves in the elegance of the past. The rooms are decorated in Victorian opulence, and the mantlepieces, mirrors, chandeliers, and doors are original. The front veranda offers a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains which give the area its nickname of “Little Switzerland.” Some of the bed and breakfast rooms are located in the adjacent Carriage House which was built in 1861 and served as home for the Packer family’s horses and coaches. Although this mansion isn’t haunted, the inn does offer Murder Mystery Weekends, and ghost tours are popular in town in the fall.