The Dimmick Memorial Library
Among the beautiful buildings lining Broadway in Jim Thorpe, the Dimmick Memorial Library immediately stands out. Its red brick, steep gables, large arched windows and decorative terra-cotta details give it a character very different from the houses surrounding it. But after seeing the Dimmick House, the library becomes even more interesting because the two buildings tell different parts of the same family story.
Milton Dimmick was born in Mauch Chunk in 1848, the son of Milo and Mary Dimmick. His father was a prominent attorney who served in the United States Congress, and the family lived in the handsome Italianate house we had seen farther along Broadway. Milton was also among the very first students to attend the newly established Lehigh University, graduating from its School of Civil Engineering in 1871.
The Dimmick family experienced a remarkable amount of loss. Milton had a brother and two sisters, but by the time he died in 1884 at only 36 years old, he was the last surviving member of his immediate family. In his will, he left the family estate in trust for the creation of a public library in Mauch Chunk—a memorial not simply to himself, but to the family that had come before him.
The cornerstone was laid on June 15, 1889. Architect T. Roney Williamson designed the distinctive building, incorporating the decorative brick and terra-cotta work that makes it so noticeable today. Construction took about a year, and the Dimmick Memorial Library officially opened its doors on October 1, 1890.
On December 13, 1979, a devastating fire swept through the library, apparently beginning with a malfunctioning basement boiler. More than 25,000 books were destroyed, and the building suffered extensive damage. Rather than abandon the historic library, the community restored it. The work took nearly two years and also provided an opportunity to expand the building while preserving its historic character.
Today, more than 135 years after its doors first opened, the Dimmick Memorial Library still serves the people of Jim Thorpe from the same Broadway location.
For me, seeing the Dimmick House and then discovering this library added another layer to the story of Mauch Chunk. The house tells us something about a prosperous nineteenth-century family who lived here. The library tells us what one member of that family chose to leave behind.
Milton Dimmick died young and had no immediate family remaining to carry the family story forward. Instead, he used the family estate to create something for the entire community. More than a century later, people are still walking through the doors of the library that bears their name.
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