Tamaqua, borough (town), Schuylkill county, east-central Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Little Schuylkill River. The area was settled in 1799, and its name derives from the Iroquois Indian word for “land of the beaver.” After the opening of the horse-drawn Little Schuylkill Railroad in 1831, the town prospered as a centre of anthracite coal mining. Light manufactures (chemicals, textiles, and metal fabricating) are now the economic mainstay. Inc. 1833. Pop. (2000) 7,174; (2010) 7,107.