A postage stamp bearing the likeness of the historic Tamaqua train station was released March 9.

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the stamp, along with stamps featuring four other train stations, in its “Railroad Stations Forever” series.

Paul Smith, a USPS spokesman, noted that 30 million Railroad Stations stamps were printed and available at post offices across the nation.

To mark the stamp’s issuance, more than 500 attended a celebration at the 1874 station near the Five Points intersection.

The event included a toast, and was organized by Tamaqua Save Our Station (SOS).

Tamaqua SOS was responsible for rescuing the once blighted depot from demolition and spearheading a $1.5 million revitalization that was supported by the Tamaqua borough and area civic groups.

The depot serves as a visitors’ center for Schuylkill County and the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. It includes a restaurant and functions as the boarding site for train excursions to and from the borough.

In its peak years in the first half of the 20th century, more than 40 passenger trains stopped in Tamaqua daily.

The depot was shuttered in 1963 when passenger service was discontinued. It was vacant for years and damaged by arson.

After a drive to rebuild, the depot was completely restored by 2004. Those that helped included Tamaqua SOS, Tamaqua Historical Society, Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, Tamaqua borough, then state Rep. David Argall and citizens.

Many residents donated or purchased engraved commemorative bricks that are part of the station’s walkway.

The Tamaqua post office received a shipment of 2,800 stamps for release day.

“During our research, we initially focused on architectural and geographic diversity; we also wanted to make sure we included some smaller towns/smaller stations,” explained Derry Noyes, the Postal Service art director. “Another criteria on our list was stations that people could go and visit. Over the course of our search, we began focusing on the more historic stations, and as it turns out, all five of the stations honored on the stamps are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Three of the stations ended up being in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, but we were able to keep a variety of styles and sizes.”

The other stations featured were Point of Rocks Station in Maryland; Main Street Station in Richmond, Virginia; Santa Fe Station in San Bernardino, California; and Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The stamps and train station artwork are still available on usps.com.