LEHIGHTON, Pa. — A group in Carbon County is hoping to make history more accessible through a new walking tour app.
It's hard to believe a small, paved path near the athletic fields around the corner from Lehighton Area High School once hosted thousands of people. It's part of the old track from the Carbon County Fairgrounds.
Despite the pavement disappearing, the Lehighton Area Heritage Alliance is trying to ensure the history doesn't.
"This is all that remains of what was once a huge, huge thing in Carbon County. So, it was around for over 100 years. They had horse racing and car racing, everything you could imagine," said Lisa Kulp, a volunteer with the group.
Kulp says that the group has been looking for a museum space to display some of the borough's artifacts for several years.
But until they have the funds, the group decided to launch the Explore Lehighton Walking Tour on the PocketSites app, allowing users to learn about the borough's history on the go.
"It really is something great just to get out and walk around town and see what we have to offer in this community and learn about the history," Kulp said.
One of the stops on the tour is the Lehighton Cemetery. A memorial shares the story and history of the Gnadenhutten massacre in the 18th century.
"We wanted to make it more accessible to the younger generation and to the new folks that are coming into the area. I meet so many people who are touring either in Jim Thorpe and coming through our area or have moved from the city, and they're all interested in history, but they don't know where to find it," Kulp said.
The tour guides you to 11 stops throughout Lehighton and is under two and a half miles long. You'll find photos and explanations of each of the historic sites.
In the future, the group hopes to be able to add more stops to showcase the rich history people have in their backyards.
Once you download the app, type in the search bar "explore Lehighton."
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