Tamaqua was settled in 1799 when Burkhardt (alternatively Berkhard) Moser, accompanied by his son Jacob (born 1790) and by John Kershner, built shelters and a sawmill 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 as it happens was the first adult to die and receive burial there on February 15, 1822; followed later in April that year by John Kershner.