{"nrhp_refnum":"74001765","name":"Packer, Asa, Mansion","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Packer Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jim Thorpe","county":"Carbon County","state":"PA","lat":40.86451048200007,"lon":-75.73863028788034,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-12-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1985-02-04","areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick mansion on a hillside overlooking the town of Jim Thorpe (formerly Mauch Chunk) in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, with an original outbuilding complex. It was built in 1860 as the home of industrialist Asa Packer.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant primarily as the home of Asa Packer, a prominent industrialist, philanthropist and public servant whose railroad and coal wealth is reflected in its furnishings. It is also presented as a fine example of Victorian-American architecture combining Gothic, Italianate and American elements, and as notable for its very good state of preservation.","narrative":"Built in 1860 on a hillside above Mauch Chunk, now Jim Thorpe, the three-story brick mansion has a rectangular plan with rooms on either side of a central hall, bowed one-room extensions at each end, and a veranda across the front. Its exterior trim mixes ogee-arched window frames, Gothic gingerbread and an Italianate roof with elaborate wooden brackets, and an octagonal turret on the roof gives a view over the town. The house was the home of Asa Packer, who rose from carpentry and canal work to control the Lehigh Valley Railroad and became a multi-millionaire through anthracite coal. He later served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and in Congress and founded Lehigh University in 1866. Its seventeen rooms retain much original woodwork, furnishings and wallpaper, including carved woodwork on the first floor and furniture in Renaissance Revival style by George Henkels of Philadelphia. The mansion is valued for its link to Packer's wealth and public life and for its unusually intact interior.","period_of_significance":"1860","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian-American; Gothic, Italianate and Renaissance Revival elements","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"The interior is described as in excellent condition and the exterior as retaining its original appearance apart from repainting; the playhouse is now the caretaker's house and the ice house has recently been restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.841676-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001765.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001765/d1359840a2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001765/d1359840a2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Chris18240 (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Packer_Mansion001.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Chris18240 (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Packer_Mansion001.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"77001134","name":"Old Mauch Chunk Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/old-mauch-chunk-historic-district-77001134/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995974","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asa_Packer_Mansion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4803148"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/carbon-county/packer-asa-mansion-74001765/"}