Packer Family History

Humble Beginnings

Asa Packer (1805-1879) was born into humble circumstances to Elisha and Desire Packer on December 29, 1805 in Mystic, Connecticut.  He left home when he was seventeen and set out on foot to Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, where he apprenticed as a carpenter to his cousin, Edward Packer.

In 1827, Asa traveled to New York seeking employment, but to no avail. He returned to Susquehanna County within a year.  On January 23, 1828, Asa married Sarah Minerva Blakslee (1807-1882).  Asa and Sarah rented and tilled a farm that belonged to Sarah’s father.  The crops were poor and the markets distant, and by the end of four years, they were just as poor as when they had first started.

Coming To Mauch Chunk

In the winter of 1832, hearing that men were needed to captain coal barges on the Lehigh Canal, Asa traveled to Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania.  Once there, he made an engagement to hire out for the summer, and later returned home to settle his affairs.  In the spring of 1833, the Packer family set out for Mauch Chunk.  

The canal system had its drawbacks and a faster method of transportation was needed.  In October of 1851, risking financial ruin, Asa purchased nearly all the controlling stock and interest for the unfinished Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad.  By November, 1852, he expended the railroad from Mauch Chunk to Easton, Pennsylvania, in exchange for the company’s stocks and bonds.  

New Homestead

On October 16, 1861, the Packers settled in their Italianate Villa in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. In October 2011, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of completion of their new home. In May of 2019, we celebrated the 140th anniversary of Asa Packer’s passing.

Lehigh University

In 1865, Packer donated 57 acres of land on Bethlehem’s South Mountain along with $500,000 of his own funds — then the largest gift ever made to an educational institution—to establish Lehigh University.

A Golden Wedding Anniversary

On January 23, 1878, Asa and Sarah celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. The Packers were married for fifty-one and a half years before Mr. Packer passed to the other side, but their life together was marked by tragedy.  Daughters Catharine, Malvina and Gertrude all passed away before the age of three.  Lucy Eveline (1832-1873), Robert Asa (1842-1883) both passed away from pneumonia.  Harry Eldred (1850-1884) passed away from cirrhosis of the liver and Mary Hannah (1839-1912) passed away peacefully in her sleep.

In Remembrance

Asa never fully forgot his humble beginnings, his generous deeds spoke for him.  A philanthropist throughout his lifetime, Asa gave 33 million dollars to the town of Mauch Chunk and the Lehigh Valley.  At the time of his passing, Asa retained an estate valued at 54 and a half million dollars.

Mary Packer Cummings

When Sarah Packer died, Mary, their last remaining child, could only inherit if she were married, so she entered into an arranged marriage, becoming the wealthiest woman in America, second in the world only to the Queen of England. She held the same philanthropic ideals as her father, so when she died in 1912, she willed her family’s home and all of its contents to the Borough of Mauch Chunk, where it would remain as a memorial to her father and his accomplishments.  In 1954, the Bear Mountain Lions Club (now Jim Thorpe Lions Club) was interested in sponsoring a community project, and approached the Borough about opening the Mansion’s doors.  The Mansion has been open to the public since Memorial Day 1956.