It’s been 105 years since a Packer family member has lived inside the Asa Packer Mansion, nestled on a hill in Jim Thorpe overlooking the Lehigh River.

But stepping onto the grounds and inside the home seem to tell another tale.

The family’s ornate tastes and decorative style is perfectly preserved as if they were just away on vacation.

The beautiful preservation of this 156-year-old family home is thanks to the Bear Mountain Lions Club, now the Jim Thorpe Lions Club, which, with the permission of Jim Thorpe borough, has meticulously kept every detail that was the Packer family, from the builder, Asa Packer, and his wife, Sarah, to his last daughter, Mary Packer Cummings — the last person to live in the mansion — just as they were over a century ago.

From the furniture and bedding to the calendar in the master bedroom, everything remains just as it was in 1912 when Mary Packer Cummings died.

To accomplish this great feat, the Lions Club has undertaken numerous capital projects and is currently on year two of a three-year, $118,000 exterior preservation project to preserve the history that is a gem to the community. The money for the projects comes from the operation of tours of the home and does not include any grants or borough funds.

Maintaining the original detail

Ron Sheehan, executive director of the mansion, said that the home’s exterior, including the ornate woodwork seen around the windows and near the roof, is mostly the originals from when the home was built.

“The home hasn’t been painted since 1995,” he said, adding that at that time, the Lions Club spent approximately $65,000 to complete the work. At that time, a paint analysis to best match the colors was completed.

“The colors that you see presently on the mansion are those that were on the home at the time of Mary’s death,” he said.

Darren Reinart Contracting, which painted the home in 1995, has again been selected to complete the painting portion of the project. This part will be completed in three phases.

Phase one includes carpentry work and painting the front of the home down to the porch, as well as the wings. It is expected to be completed by Nov. 15.

Phase two includes painting the back portion of the home in the spring of 2018.

Phase three includes painting from the roof line of the front porch down in late fall 2018.

“The reason projects like this take so long is that it’s not like painting your grandmother’s house. We have guidelines we have to follow, we have to bounce different processes off Pennsylvania Historic Museum Commission and the U.S. Park Service because we’re a national historic landmark,” Sheehan said.

“They have guidelines on everything down to the water pressure on powerwashing that is done to get the paint to stick. You have to make sure that is done properly so that the mortar doesn’t get knocked out between the stone.”

Carpentry work is also being done to restore the portions of window frames, soffit and corbels that adorn the overhang of the roof.

“Carpentry work is needed because those are the originals from the Packer family and have not been addressed in nearly 160 years,” Sheehan said. “Wood does not normally last that long.”

To maintain the integrity of these items, carpenters from Duggan and Marcon are refabricating portions of these items and keeping most of the originals to maintain as much of the original home as possible.

Sheehan said that no resin or PVC pieces are being used in the repairs of these pieces.

In addition, new box gutters and down spouting work has been done by Kunsman Construction; a new cupola roof was installed by B. MacDonald and Sons; 21 security cameras have been installed inside and around the property; replaced 30 smoke detectors; and the front wall has been repointed to the Harry Packer Mansion.

Sheehan said that a dehumidification and climate control project in the basement area will also be done by Larry McCullion and Son.

The caretaker’s home

A second building on the property, the caretaker’s home, which no one has lived in since the early 1990s, is another project the Lions Club is planning on tackling in the future.

Sheehan said that Jim Thorpe borough engineers completed a cost feasibility study in 2016 to determine just how much is needed to restore and preserve the structure.

The price tag to complete both interior and exterior restoration comes in at approximately $618,000 if grants are used.

“That covers everything from electrical, HVAC, exterior foundation repairs, a new roof, everything,” Sheehan said.

The Lions Club and borough officials are discussing their options and considering doing the project in phases.

“We’re looking into it, but it’s a slow process because it has to be done right.”

About the trustees

The Asa Packer Mansion, which was built in 1861 at a cost of $14,000, was turned over to Mauch Chunk following Mary Packer Cummings’ death.

In her will, she left the home and all its contents to the borough of Mauch Chunk, where it would remain a memorial to her father and his accomplishments as a philanthropist, railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh University.

The home was sealed with its contents intact until 1954, when the then Bear Mountain Lions Club met with the newly formed Jim Thorpe borough officials and entered into a trustee agreement to maintain the property.

On Memorial Day 1956, the Lions reopened the mansion to the public and has kept the Packer memory alive ever since.

Today, tours are held seven days a week from Memorial Day weekend until the end of October.

Sheehan said that despite the restoration project, the mansion will remain open for tours during the fall foliage festival in October, with work continuing during the weeks.

For more information on the Asa Packer Mansion, visit www.asapackermansion.com.