Tamaqua Things to Do

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Up on a hill in the northeast side of town is the impressive Zion Lutheran Church. The building appears to mostly be built circa 1927, as shown in a corner stone, but 1901 and 1876 are also chiseled into this stone at the base of a marvelous granite structure seen form most parts of town.

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The Little Schuylkill River runs from Broad Mountain in the north through Tamaqua where it is joined from the west by Wabash Creek. The Little Schuylkill River enters the Schuylkill River where eventually flows through Philadelphia to the Delaware River. If one walks east along Broad Street, the river can be found flowing under a bridge. Wasbash Creek is south of Broad Street and close to downtown.

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I found the walk from the railroad station to the cemetary along West Broad Street interesting enough. There are a number of old churches and fine old residences, a few of which are still in need of restoration. Broad Street is also Hwy 209, and so provides the main east-west axis through town. As one walks west along Broad Street, the hill rising to the right (north) is mostly residential.

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Tamaqua's old central business district is near the railroad station at the junction of Hwys 209 and 309, or Broad and Pine streets, respectively. The flat iron building is an interesting relic, but some older architecture is equally worth a look.

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Constructed in 1874, the railroad station is the most famous Tamaqua landmark, located as it is in the center of town. The station stood vacant for many years after passenger rail service ceased, and then in the 1980's the local non-profit Save Our Station group raised $1.5 million for its restoration. The gift shop and restaurant were closed for the winter, but rail excursions leave from the station during the Tamaqua Historical Society's annual Heritage Festival on the second Sunday in October. The railroad station grounds include several coal and passenger locomotives from the famous Reading Railroad Line. There's also a large chunk of anthracite coal as a tribute to the town's original livelyhood. It's important to note that this was the first railroad in the nation built to haul coal (1823) and although it transfers neither passengers nor coal, it remains in service today.

At the corner of Broad and Lehigh Streets is a sign that memorializes the location of the murder of police officer Benjamin Yost by the Molly Maguire assassins in 1876. Yost was reportedly extinguishing a street lamp at the time of his murder.

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At the top of Broad Street is the Odd Fellows Cemetary, from which a great view over the town can be found. The Gaelic inscriptions on the tombstones and memorials shows a strong Welsh miner influence in Tamaqua during it's hey day. The cemetary has a substantial and old veterans memorial surrounded by canons, all of which made for great photography when buried in winter snow.