Tamaqua (, ) is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in eastern Schuylkill County in the

Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically defined ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. It had a population of 6,934 as of the 2020 U.S. census. Tamaqua was established from territory from West Penn and Schuylkill Townships. The borough is part of the micropolitan statistical area of Pottsville. Tamaqua is located northwest of

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, northwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and west of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

History

18th century

Tamaqua was settled in 1799 by Burkhardt Moser, his son Jacob (born 1790), and John Kershner, who built shelters and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

at the confluence of the Little Schuylkill River and Panther Creek, which is downtown Tamaqua today. According to property records, Moser had a partner named Houser, and together they owned 2,000 acres which Moser homesteaded. Moser built a log house at the base of Dutch Hill in 1801 for Mrs. Catherine Moser, who was the first adult to die and receive burial there on February 15, 1822 followed later in April that year by John Kershner.

19th century

The borough was originally to be named Tuscarora, but the name Tamaqua was chosen after it was realized that there already was a community named Tuscarora about four miles (6 km) to the west. The editor of ''The History of Schuylkill County'' wrote in 1881: The editor writes the following about Tamaqua's founding: Roughly half of Moser's original log cabin is still intact and visible behind a house on the north side of East Broad Street. The discovery of anthracite coal in the region in the early 19th century led to Tamaqua's rise as a coal-producing community. The town was incorporated as a borough in 1832. The first coal breaker, called "The Greenwood" was built as noted in the quotation, at the site of the first mine at the lower end of the Panther Creek Valley. However, details about construction and development in Rahn Township and Coaldale on the county-line with sister-town Lansford from the same source history illustrate it was definitely not the first breaker in the valley.

Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was a mining and transportation company headquartered in Mauch Chunk, now known as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The company operated from 1818 until its dissolution in 1964 and played an early and influential role in ...

, with 10,000 acres located between Mauch Chunk in present-day

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

and Tamaqua, was known to have mine tailings in their lands in Coaldale.Macnamara (ed.), History of Schuylkill County as cited and linked, supported elsewhere in text. The Greenwood breaker in 1874, as noted in the above quote, was burned by the

Molly Maguires The Molly Maguires was an Irish people, Irish 19th-century secret society active in Ireland, Liverpool, and parts of the eastern United States, best known for their activism among Irish-American and Irish diaspora, Irish immigrant coal miners i ...

in the labor troubles of that era. Irish, Welsh, and German immigrants came to the borough in the 1840s and 1850s followed by a large influx of Italians, Lithuanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, and Poles in the 1890s and early 20th century. During the 1860s and 1870s, Tamaqua also was the geographic center hub for the Molly Maguires. One murder commonly attributed to the Mollies was that of town policeman Benjamin Yost, who was shot to death early one morning while extinguishing a gas lamp at the corner of West Broad and Lehigh Streets. The Tamaqua Railroad station was constructed in 1874. It stood idle from the mid 1980s through the late 1990s after passenger railroad service to the town was discontinued. Initially planned to be demolished in the late 1980s, the non-profit group Save Our Station (S.O.S.) eventually managed to raise enough money to have it refurbished at a cost of $1.5 million. The station reopened in August 2004 and is now home to a full-service restaurant and gift shop. Rail excursions leave from there during the Tamaqua Historical Society's annual Heritage Festival on the second Sunday in October.

Hotels

The first tavern in Tamaqua was opened around 1807 in Berkhard Moser's house by the widow of John Kershner and her son-in-law, Isaac Bennett. In 1827, the Little Schuylkill Company, aspiring to draw the center of population to Dutch Hill, built the first stone building and hotel in Tamaqua. The house was converted into a dwelling thirty years afterward. In 1832, James Taggart, one of the pioneers in Panther Creek Valley, came to Tamaqua and opened a hotel. Michael Beard took possession in 1846. Between 1845 and 1847, the United States Hotel was built by the Little Schuylkill Company and was first kept by Joseph Haughawout. In 1850, the Washington House, on Pine Street, was built, and the American and Mansion on Centre Street at a later period.

Literary societies and lyceums

In 1853, Tamaqua had a public library and debating clubs discussed current events in the first town hall or schoolhouse as early as 1845. In 1856, the Tamaqua

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

was organized; it held weekly sessions in the south ward school building. Matthew Newkirk of

contributed 1,500 books to it, which passed into the hands of the Perseverance Fire Company when the society later disbanded. No records of the first organization remain. The principal citizens were members. On November 26, 1876, a group of men formed the Presbyterian Social and Literary Institute.

Cemeteries

The first graveyard was laid out in 1831 on Dutch Hill. The

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

burying grounds were laid out about 1837. The 30-acre Odd Fellows' cemetery, which opened in 1865 and is overseen by Harmony Lodge of Odd Fellows, is located at the western end of Broad Street. It is one of only two elaborate Victorian garden cemeteries in Schuylkill County. Zion's cemetery was opened in 1876.

20th century

Tamaqua remained a thriving community throughout the heyday of coal production in the United States through the early 20th century. Certain sections of the borough, such as Dutch Hill and the South Ward, had a reputation for "toughness." Those sections were also densely populated by immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. However, in the 1950s, as

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

began tapering off, Tamaqua and other

communities built on

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

began declining. In 1955.

Hurricane Diane Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $11,764,962,686 today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It tropical ...

caused tremendous damage to Tamaqua's railroad yards, and they never fully recovered. In 1971, the borough annexed neighboring Rahn Township and its Owl Creek section, home to the world's first

fish hatchery A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...

. In 1945, John E. Morgan established a knitwear manufacturing industry in Hometown, two miles north of Tamaqua. The company, Morgan Knitting Mills, Inc., grew into the second-largest employer in the area behind Atlas Powder Company. In the mid 1950s, Morgan, working from a design developed by his wife, Anna Hoban Morgan, patented the widely known thermal underwear product lines. Since Morgan's death in 2000, the Morgan Trust has donated money to various causes in the Tamaqua area and established the John & Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest in

. Dial telephone service arrived in Tamaqua on August 6, 1961. The borough uses

area codes 570 and 272 Area codes 570 and 272 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the northeast quadrant of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes the cities or towns of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Will ...

. Operators who worked the 12-position switchboard on the top floor of the Tamaqua National Bank at West Broad and Berwick Streets were transferred to Bell Telephone toll centers in either Hazleton or Pottsville. The 55-block Tamaqua Historic District, Anthracite Bank Building, George Ormrod House, and Tamaqua station have each been named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

21st century

In 2007, the borough of Tamaqua passed an unprecedented law giving

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

legal rights. The ordinance establishes that the municipal government or any Tamaqua resident can file a lawsuit on behalf of the local ecosystem. Other townships, such as Rush, followed suit and passed their own laws.

Geography

Tamaqua is located in a valley basin at (40.798600, −75.966498) in Pennsylvania's southern

section of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

in the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. Tamaqua's valley is located at the western end of the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...

on the edge of the neighboring

Lehigh River The Lehigh River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward ...

watershed. Tamaqua's terrain is typical of many mid-size

Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three se ...

with low lands and flat towns with business, rail transport, and industries in its lower valley locations and residential dwellings on the higher elevated slopes above. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and (1.31%) is water. Three streams pass through Tamaqua: The Little Schuylkill River runs through Tamaqua from the north through the gap separating the folds of Sharp Mountain on the west and Nesquehoning Mountain. Panther Creek flows southwest from Lansford, five miles away, and joins the Little Schuylkill River in Tamaqua. Wabash Creek joins the Little Schuylkill from the west. In the Tamaqua area,

was a vital economic activity throughout the 20th century, but more recent diminished use of coal as a

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

fuel and the demise of steam powered traction, coal has since experienced a decline. Tamaqua also gained recognition as a railroad center. In 1885, the Edison Illuminating Company in Tamaqua furnished the town with the nation's second

incandescent Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted by the thermal motion of particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation. The emission of energy arises from a combination of electro ...

municipal lighting system, a feat accomplished by the innovation of

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

. The nearest city to Tamaqua is Hazleton, which is 12.5 miles north. Tamaqua is east of Pottsville, southwest of

, approximately south of

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, approximately northwest of

, and approximately southwest of

. Tamaqua's average elevation is above sea level, but elevations can reach up to above sea level. The borough has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'') and the

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 6a. Average monthly temperatures range from 26.0 °F in January to 71.0 °F in July.

Transportation

Roads and highways

The main highway in Tamaqua is Pennsylvania Route 309, which connects it with

and

to its south and Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre to its north, where it continues as PA Route 29 to the

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

line. Route 309 serves as a truck bypass for

Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through ea ...

since many placarded trucks are not allowed in the

Lehigh Tunnel The Lehigh Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels that carries the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension (Interstate 476) under Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania), Blue Mountain north from U.S. Route 22 in the Lehigh Valley to the Scranton, Pennsylvania ...

and as a route of choice for access to the region's operating

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

s and industrial parks. A second highway in the borough, U.S. Route 209, runs along Panther Creek and intersects with Route 309 in the borough. Route 209 runs for approximately 212 miles from Millersburg in Dauphin County to

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...

. U.S. 209 also connects Tamaqua to nearby municipalities, including the Schuylkill County seat at Pottsville in the west and both

and Lehighton to the east. Other highways near Tamaqua include Pennsylvania Route 54, Pennsylvania Route 443, Pennsylvania Route 895, and Pennsylvania Route 902, most of which connect the Tamaqua area to the Poconos, the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

, and South Central Pennsylvania. In addition, Interstates 81, 80, 476, and 78 are near the town. Bus service is provided by Schuylkill Transportation System, Route 45 ( Pottsville- McAdoo), and Fullington Trailways (intercity).

Railroads

Until the late 1960s, Tamaqua was a hub for two major railroads, the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

(RDG) and

Lehigh and New England Railroad The Lehigh and New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety after the New York, Ontario and Weste ...

(LNE). A large rail yard existed in the southern part of town that extended through downtown with, at one point, eight tracks passing by the passenger station. An engine house, turntable, and car shop were located across the street from the passenger station in what is now the St. Luke's Medical Center parking lot. The collapse of the

anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...

industry in the early 1960s, the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

merger, and

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was the List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes, costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, ...

in 1972 all led to the railroad's demise. Today, all that remains is a single track line through town operated by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad. Tamaqua has a small rail yard, but its switching and geography makes it an important junction with tracks along both the Little Schuylkill River and others penetrating near the west-flowing Panther Creek and north into Hazleton. The town once hosted trackage of the

and the

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Railroads.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 7,174 people, 3,179 households, and 1,901 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 3,602 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.18%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.08% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population. There were 3,179 households, out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.93. The borough's population consisted of 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $27,899, and the median income for a family was $36,406. Males had a median income of $29,970 versus $20,637 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $15,752. About 11.1% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those aged 65 or over.

Media

Since June 14, 1965, Tamaqua has had an FM station, beginning as WSVB, later WZTA and WCRN, and now WMGH, commonly known as Magic 105.5. The Bill Angst Little League Field in Thomas Walsh Park is adjacent to the original studios and transmitting tower in the Dutch Hill section of the borough. The studios are now with co-owned WLSH (AM 1410), seven miles east of Tamaqua on Route 209 in Nesquehoning. The station's tower is in Tuscarora, 4.5 miles west of Tamaqua on Locust Mountain. Tamaqua is located in the Scranton media market and receives television signals primarily from that area. Depending on cable providers, it is possible to receive signals from

and

, since Tamaqua lies on the boundary line of the two markets. The main television stations broadcasting to Tamaqua are: *

WNEP-TV WNEP-TV (channel 16) is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic. ...

, an ABC affiliate in

* WBRE-TV, an NBC affiliate in Wilkes-Barre * WVIA-TV, a PBS member station in Scranton * WLVT-TV, a PBS member station in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

(licensed to

) * WOLF-TV, a FOX affiliate in Plains (licensed to Hazleton) *

WFMZ-TV WFMZ-TV (channel 69) is an independent television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Locally-based Maranatha Broadcasting Company owns both WFMZ-TV and Wilmington, Delaware–licensed MeTV affiliate WDPN-TV. The two stations sh ...

, an independent station in Allentown * WYOU-TV, a CBS affiliate in Wilkes-Barre (licensed to Scranton) * WYLN-LP, an independent station in Hazleton Tamaqua receives broadcasts of

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

from

(

WPIX-TV WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City, serving as the ''de facto'' flagship of The CW Television Network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, the station is operated by CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group under a local marketi ...

) and Wilkes-Barre ( WSWB-TV).

Churches

*Bethany E.C Church *Bethany Evangelical Congregational *Calvary Episcopal Church *Primitive Methodist Church *First United Methodist Church *New England Valley Mennonite Church *New Life Assembly of God *St. John XXIII *St. John's Evangelical Lutheran *St. John's United Church of Christ *Trinity United Church of Christ *Zion Evangelical Lutheran

Education

Primary education

Students in Tamaqua attend schools in the Tamaqua Area School District, which includes seven schools, five public and two private, located within the geographic area of the district: *Tamaqua Area Senior High School – Grades 9–12 *Tamaqua Area Middle School – Grades 6–8 *Tamaqua Area Elementary School – Grades K–5 *Rush Elementary School – Grades K-2 *St. Jerome Regional School – Grades PreK – 8 *West Penn Elementary School – Grades K-5 * Marian Catholic High School – Grades 9–12

Colleges and universities

Tamaqua is home to the Morgan Center branch of the Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), a community college based in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

Events

*Tamaqua hosts

Playa del Fuego Playa del Fuego, also known as PDF, is a regional event held annually in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. It is inspired by the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada. The event is held in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic U.S. annually. The even ...

, a twice annual event organized on the model of

Burning Man Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...

. The spring event is held over

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

weekend and the fall event is held over

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...

weekend.https://playadelfuego.org/ Playa Del Fuego] website

Notable people

* Frank M. Allen (February 15, 1923 – January 9, 1999), former Pennsylvania State House of Representatives member * Henry Aurand (November 16, 1894 – June 18, 1980), former Lt. General and Commanding General, United States Army, Pacific (CG USArPac) * Charles Justin Bailey (June 21, 1859 – September 21, 1946), former Major-General in U.S. Army who commanded 81st Infantry Division during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

* Kimberly Bergalis (January 19, 1968 – December 8, 1991), infected by her dentist in

Fort Pierce, Florida Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Florida’s Atlantic Coast. It is also known as the Sunrise City. Per the 2020 census, the population w ...

, bringing national attention to need for HIV testing for health care workers * Henry L. Cake (October 6, 1827 – August 26, 1899), commander of 96th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers (1861–1863) and U.S. Congressman * Chris Fulmer (July 4, 1858 – November 9, 1931), former professional baseball player,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

* Frank E. Graeff (December 19, 1860 - July 29, 1919),

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

hymn writer and author * Lydia Holman (1868–1960), American nurse who served in the Spanish-American War * William Klingaman, Sr. (December 14, 1916 – August 13, 1991), former Pennsylvania State House of Representatives member * Paul H. Knepper (1917 – March 1, 1989), aircraft engineer and designer who built the Crusader, a two-seat airplane * Jerry Knowles (July 30, 1948–), Pennsylvania State House of Representatives member * Jacob Kulick (April 11, 1992), recording artist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and audio engineer. * Sean Love (September 6, 1968–), former professional football player,

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

* G. Raymond Nye (April 13, 1889 – July 23, 1965), American actor of the silent era who appeared in over 100 films * Maxine Reiner (March 16, 1916 – June 19, 2003), actress * Megan Valentine, professor of mechanical engineering,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

* Paul L. Wagner (September 19, 1897 – September 10, 1991), former Pennsylvania State Senator

In popular culture

In the fiction writings of

John O'Hara John Henry O'Hara (January 31, 1905 – April 11, 1970) was an American writer. He was one of America's most prolific writers of Short story, short stories, credited with helping to invent ''The New Yorker'' magazine short story style.John O'H ...

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Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is a city and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the wes ...

, he references Tamaqua as "Taqua."

References

Sources

Footnotes

External links

Official website
{{authority control Tamaqua 1799 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Boroughs in Pennsylvania Environmental personhood Municipalities of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1799 Populated places on the Schuylkill River