Groundhogs were held in high esteem in Punxsutawney, Pa., even before white settlers arrived. Punxsutawney — which means "the town of the sand flies" — was first settled by the Delaware Indians in 1723. The Delawares believed groundhogs were their distant ancestors. This belief was based on a Delaware creation myth, which held that people were born as animals deep inside the earth and emerged hundreds of years later to live as humans.

On Feb. 2, 1886, an editor for The Punxsutawney Spirit published a story about a group of friends who went searching for groundhogs in the woods of Punxsutawney each Candlemas Day. The following year, the outing became an official event known as Groundhog Day.

The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob, a wooded area outside Punxsutawney, was held in secrecy; only the groundhog's prognostication was revealed to the public. It wasn't just any old groundhog either, but the famous Punxsutawney Phil, who — according to legend — has been making weather predictions since that first official Groundhog Day in 1887.

Punxsutawney Phil gave his predictions in secrecy until 1966, when the private ceremony at Gobbler's Knob was opened to the public. Since then, it has become a national media event. After the release of the 1993 film Groundhog Day, attendance at the annual event has jumped to more than 30,000 people.

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