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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Jim Thorpe (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Jim Thorpe. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Jim Thorpe ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Over the years, Jim Thorpe had several name changes:

  • Prior to its current name of Jim Thorpe, it was known as East Mauch Chunk.
  • Before changing to East Mauch Chunk, it was named Mauch Chunk.
  • Jim Thorpe was originally named Mauch Chunk

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

A Few Details for Jim Thorpe ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Jim Thorpe was founded in 1818.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Jim Thorpe is located in Carbon County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Carbon County: Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton & Schuylkill.

Below are the counties that are near Jim Thorpe. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jim Thorpe:

  • Carbon County     (The home county of Jim Thorpe)
  • Berks County
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.
    • Berwick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Foundryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foundryville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
      • Foundryville is located in Columbia County
    • Hetlerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Briar Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Shumans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shumans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
      • Shumans is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shumans
      • From Jim Thorpe to Shumans
  • Lackawanna County
  • Lehigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.
    • Slatedale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Custer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Custer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
      • Custer is located in Lehigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Custer
      • From Jim Thorpe to Custer
    • Emerald
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emerald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald
      • Emerald is located in Lehigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Emerald
      • From Jim Thorpe to Emerald
    • Slatington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slatington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slatington
      • Slatington is located in Lehigh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,311 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Slatington <1>
    • Friedens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lochland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lochland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochland
      • Lochland is located in Lehigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lochland
      • From Jim Thorpe to Lochland
    • Newside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Rising Sun
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacksonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Rockdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
      • Rockdale is located in Lehigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rockdale
      • From Jim Thorpe to Rockdale
    • Schnecksville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schnecksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schnecksville
      • Schnecksville is located in Lehigh County
    • Balliettsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ironton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Luzerne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.
    • Eckley ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jeddo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeddo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
      • Jeddo is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Highlands
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ebervale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Freeland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hazleton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • White Haven
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Haven
      • White Haven is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,095 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Haven <1>
    • Harleigh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Harwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • West Hazleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Hazleton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hazleton
      • West Hazleton is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,318 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Hazleton
      • From Jim Thorpe to West Hazleton
    • Penn Lake Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penn Lake Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Lake Park
      • Penn Lake Park is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Stoddartsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Conyngham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conyngham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conyngham
      • Conyngham is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conyngham <1>
  • Monroe County
  • Northampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.
    • Berlinsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Danielsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lockport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lockport. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport
      • Lockport is located in Northampton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lockport
      • From Jim Thorpe to Lockport
    • Walnutport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnutport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnutport
      • Walnutport is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,115 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnutport <1>
    • Cherryville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Arndts
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arndts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arndts
      • Arndts is located in Northampton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arndts
      • From Jim Thorpe to Arndts
    • Kreidersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Chapman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
      • Chapman is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
    • Howertown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Northampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • North Catasauqua
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Catasauqua have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Catasauqua
      • North Catasauqua is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,825 people
    • Weaversville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bath
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,756 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
  • Schuylkill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.
    • Andreas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Coaldale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coaldale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
      • Coaldale is located in Schuylkill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coaldale <1>
    • Mantz
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mantz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantz
      • Mantz is located in Schuylkill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mantz
      • From Jim Thorpe to Mantz
    • Hometown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • McAdoo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McAdoo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdoo
      • McAdoo is located in Schuylkill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McAdoo <1>
    • Kelayres
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Tamaqua
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamaqua have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamaqua
      • Tamaqua is located in Schuylkill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,633 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tamaqua <1>
    • Lofty
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lofty. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofty
      • Lofty is located in Schuylkill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lofty
      • From Jim Thorpe to Lofty
    • Tuscarora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuscarora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscarora
      • Tuscarora is located in Schuylkill County
    • Delano
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Grier City - Park Crest
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Grier City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grier City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grier City
      • Grier City is located in Schuylkill County
    • Rene Mont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rene Mont. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rene Mont
      • Rene Mont is located in Schuylkill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rene Mont
      • From Jim Thorpe to Rene Mont
  • Warren County (NJ)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jim Thorpe, see our County-by-County Page for Jim Thorpe.

Cemeteries Near Jim Thorpe ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jim Thorpe.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jim Thorpe covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Jim Thorpe had a population of 4,101 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Jim Thorpe had a population of 4,650 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Jim Thorpe, with the one closest to Jim Thorpe listed first.

  • Packerton
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packerton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packerton
    • Packerton is located in Carbon County
  • Nesquehoning Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nesquehoning Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesquehoning Junction
    • Nesquehoning Junction is located in Carbon County
  • Lehighton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Weissport
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weissport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weissport
    • Weissport is located in Carbon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weissport <1>
  • Nesquehoning
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Summit Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Hill
    • Summit Hill is located in Carbon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,975 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summit Hill <1>
  • Parryville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Harrity
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrity have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrity
    • Harrity is located in Carbon County
  • Penn Haven Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Beltzville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltzville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzville
    • Beltzville is located in Carbon County
  • New Mahoning
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Normal Square
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Normal Square have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normal Square
    • Normal Square is located in Carbon County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rockport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Rockport is located in Carbon County
    • Ashfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Balliet
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balliet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balliet
      • Balliet is located in Carbon County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jim Thorpe. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jim Thorpe.

Newspapers Published in Jim Thorpe ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jim Thorpe.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jim Thorpe, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jim Thorpe.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Jim Thorpe:

The official website for Jim Thorpe: https://www.jimthorpe.org/

The official website for Carbon County: www.carboncounty.com/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jim Thorpe) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Jim Thorpe. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8755, Longitude: -75.7321    
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Jim Thorpe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025