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Tamaqua is a borough in eastern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the state's anthracite Coal Region, where the Little Schuylkill River meets Panther Creek.

Tamaqua was settled in 1799 by Burkhardt Moser, his son Jacob, and John Kershner, who built shelters and a sawmill at the confluence that is now downtown.

The borough was originally to be named Tuscarora, but that name was already taken by a community four miles west, so it became Tamaqua — from the Lenape word 'tëmakwe,' connected to the beaver.

Tamaqua was incorporated as a borough in 1832, and the discovery of anthracite coal in the region turned it into a thriving coal-producing and rail community.

Tamaqua had a population of 6,916 at the 2020 census, down from its peak of about 8,000 in 1990 as the coal industry faded.

Tamaqua has about 2,824 households, and in a quirk unusual for Pennsylvania, its homes are split almost exactly evenly — about 50% owner-occupied and 50% renter-occupied, with a median owner-occupied home value of only about $83,700.

The borough's neighborhoods include Dutch Hill and the South Ward, districts that earned a reputation for toughness during the coal era.

Like many anthracite towns, Tamaqua declined in the 1950s as deep coal mining tapered off, and today it is part of the Pottsville micropolitan statistical area.