Page Contents for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

---

Statistics & Facts

The Pennsylvania state capital is Harrisburg.
The population of Punxsutawney is approximately 6,782 (1990), 5962 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 3,111 (1990), 2685 (2010).
The amount of land area in Punxsutawney is 8.928 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
The distance from Punxsutawney to Washington DC is 177 miles.
The distance to the Pennsylvania state capital is 120 miles. (as the crow flies)
Punxsutawney is positioned 40.94 degrees north of the equator and 78.97 degrees west of the prime meridian.

Location

southwest of Du Bois in west-central Pennsylvania.
Return to Index

History & History Related Items

"Here's an interesting one. Apparently the early settlers were overwhelmed at times by the huge numbers of nearly-invisible gnats that infested the region. The nickname for these gnats was "punkies", a name you'll still find in a good dictionary. So Punxsutawney is merely the "town of punkies."
(from Name Origins of Northeast PA Towns by Mike O'Hara)

This site tells about the origin of the Groundhog Day tradition.
Return to Index

Attractions

Punxy is called "The Weather Capital of the World" as it is the home of Phil, the Groundhog, who makes his appearance on February 2nd, in front of more than 100,000 people each year!
Return to Index

---