The Asa Packer Mansion Museum

April-May open weekends ONLY
from 11:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.
June-October Wednesday-Monday
from 11:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. (Closed Tuesday)
November open weekends ONLY
from 11:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.
December open first 2 weekends only
(12/2-12/3 & 12/9-12/10)
from 11:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.
*WEATHER PERMITTING*

The Mansion was the home of Asa Packer, philanthropist, railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh University. Built in 1861 by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan, the home was constructed over a span of two years and cost a total of $14,000 dollars.

Topped by a red-ribbed tin roof and a central cupola, or belvedere, the home was built over a cast iron frame and consists of 3 stories, 18 rooms and approximately 11,000 square feet of living space.

Mary Packer Cummings

Asa Packer’s daughter Mary Packer Cummings is the reason the Mansion remains a part of local history today.  In 1912, she willed her family’s home and all its contents to the Borough of Mauch Chunk, where it would remain as a memorial to her father and his accomplishments.  At that time, however, the borough was not certain what to do with the home, and so it remained closed until 1956…it's a miracle it survived over 4 decades untouched!

A National Historic Landmark

The Bear Mountain Lions (now Jim Thorpe Lions Club) were named trustees to the home in 1954. The Mansion has been open to the public since Memorial Day of 1956, and was recognized for its national significance in commemorating the history of The United States by the National Park Service in 1985, and documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1986.