James Francis Thorpe May 22 (or 28,) 1887 – March 28, 1953 was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and played American football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and basketball.
Jim Thorpe was born in Oklahoma, and died in California. He was raised as a Sac and Fox and his native name, Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "path lit by great flash of lightning" or, more simply, "Bright Path". As was the custom for Sac and Fox, he was named for something occurring around the time of his birth, in this case the light brightening the path to the cabin where he was born.
Controversy often surrounded him in life and also after his death. Three marriages, was he an amateur or professional athlete, and his American Indian heritage all combined to keep him in the headlines. With help of his third wife, the towns of East Mauch Chunk and Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania bought Thorpe's remains, erected a monument to him, merged, and renamed the newly united town in his honor as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, even though Thorpe had never been there. The town of East Mauch Chunk, where the tomb is located has reverted back to their original name, with the other half town located across the Lehigh River, still named Jim Thorpe.
The monument site contains his tomb, two statues of him in athletic poses,and historical markers describing his life story. The grave rests on mounds of soil from Thorpe's native Oklahoma and from the stadium in which he won his Olympic medals.
This is a tomb, so NO night caching.
Check out the information kiosks, and admire the statues.