Packer descendant donates nephew’s portrait to Asa Packer Mansion

A descendant of Asa Packer on Thursday made his second contribution this year to a Jim Thorpe museum preserving the memory of the famed “self-made man” and railroad pioneer.

Local dignitaries gathered at the Asa Packer Mansion Museum to unbox a portrait of E.B. Wilbur, Packer’s nephew and trusted associate. The portrait was sent by Warren Wilbur III, 94, Packer’s great-great-great-great-grandson.

“E.B. Wilbur spent countless hours in that house with Asa as his right-hand man, and I can’t think of a better place for this portrait than right there at the museum,” Warren said by phone after the unveiling.

Earlier this year, Warren donated one of Packer’s famous walking sticks in conjunction with the 140th anniversary of his death.

“It’s really great to have these items coming back to the house,” said Ava Bretzik, who will follow in Ron Sheehan’s footsteps as executive director of the museum. “The portrait is fantastic. The box came, but we had not opened it up before today. We’re all in awe.”

Jim Thorpe Lions Club President Dr. Clem McGinley said the organization, which oversees maintenance of the mansion, welcomed the donation.

“We already have some great ideas of where to put it,” McGinley said.

The portrait will likely hang in the library, which served as the office where Packer and E.B. Wilbur worked together for many years.

“We’re so grateful to Warren for being so involved with the home and museum,” Jim Thorpe Borough Council President Greg Strubinger said. “There is no greater honor to have a direct descendant working so closely with Ava and Ron to preserve this history.”

The Wilburs moved from Mystic, Connecticut, to what is now Jim Thorpe in 1838 to join Packer’s business ventures. E.B. Wilbur worked in one of Packer’s stores and was on the Lehigh Valley Railroad survey crew before becoming his private secretary in 1856. E.B. was in charge of the finances of Packer’s enterprises.

According to Warren, the portrait, which was sent from a family home in Thousand Islands, New York, was handed down from generation to generation. Warren’s half brother was most recently in possession of it.

“The museum is just so remarkable that this was really the only place it could reside,” Warren said. “We were more than happy to send it.”

The mansion is preserved exactly as it was left upon the death of Packer’s daughter Mary Packer Cummings in 1912, including the crystal chandelier and hand-carved Henkels furniture.

“I am impressed by all the work that has been done at the mansion,” Wilbur said. “The labor of love has been very evident. I just wish Lehigh University, which Asa founded and wouldn’t exist without him, would get more involved in its long-term continuity.”