Punxsutawney is a borough in Jefferson County,
Pennsylvania, United States, 84 miles (135 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. In
1907, Punxsutawney and Claysville boroughs were consolidated and
incorporated as Greater Punxsutawney. A high-grade soft coal was mined in
the surrounding region. Formerly, the manufactures included glassworks,
foundries, ironworks, machine shops, and planing, flour, feed, and silk
mills. In 1900, 6,746 people lived there; in 1910, 9,058; in 1920, 10,311;
and in 1940, 9,482 people lived there. The population was 6,271 at the
2000 census.
The name "Punxsutawney" derives from a Delaware Indian term which
translates to "town of the sandflies."
Punxsutawney's most famous resident is Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog said
to predict the weather annually on Groundhog Day (February 2). Phil and
the town were the basis for the 1993 film Groundhog Day (although nearly
all of the movie itself was shot in Woodstock, Illinois). |
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