Friday, September 17, 2010

Town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

Following the 1953 death of renowned athlete and Olympic medal winner Jim Thorpe, the boroughs of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk merged and adopted the name of Jim Thorpe in hopes of attracting attention and tourism to bolster the local post-industrial economy. The town bought the athlete's remains from his third wife and erected a monument to the Oklahoma native, who began his sports career as a student at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

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