Carbon County, Pennsylvania

Carbon County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Originally incorporated on January 26, 1850 as the borough of Mauch Chunk, an Indian named meaning Bear Mountain. It was renamed in 1954 for the famous Indian athlete, Jim Thorpe, who is buried there.

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History

Created on March 13, 1843 from parts of Northampton and Monroe Counties. Its name alludes to its deposits of coal. Jim Thorpe, the county seat, was originally incorporated on January 26, 1850 as the borough of Mauch Chunk, an Indian named meaning Bear Mountain. It was renamed in 1954 for the famous Indian athlete, Jim Thorpe, who is buried there.

Consisting largely of land Pennsylvania obtained by the Walking Purchase from the Delaware Indians in 1737, it was the scene of Moravian missions to the Indians, frontier fighting during the French and Indian War, and Tory raids during the Revolution. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, formed in 1822, built an economic base, and Mauch Chunk flourished. Wealthy canal boat builder Asa Packer led the movement to create the county. In 1851 he formed the Lehigh Valley Railroad and broke the Navigation Company's control, although it revived after another railroad opened the Lackawanna Valley as a route for transporting coal to New York. When New York tycoon J.P. Morgan bought the Lehigh Valley Railroad in the late 1890s, millionaires left Mauch Chunk and the area declined. Deep coal mining lasted until 1973. Always producing high quality anthracite, the county still is an area for surface mining. Zinc mining became important after 1898, and the forests produce good lumber. But this is not an agricultural county; only 9 percent of the land is farmed. The population peak, 63,380, occurred in 1930. The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the thriving tourist attractions of Mauch Chunk sustain the present economy. Women's clothing is the largest manufacturing business. The value added to the economy by manufacturing in this county increased 67 percent between 1987 and 1992.

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