According to History.com, we can thank newspaper editor Clymer Freas for the special day, as he and a group of groundhog hunters declared a groundhog from the town the official predictor.

According to VisitPA, in 1886, a spirited group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney dubbed themselves "The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club." One member was an editor of Punxsutawney's newspaper and ...

which started as a groundhog hunting club. Freas is credited with starting the holiday on Feb. 2, 1886, after he wrote an article in the Punxsutawney Spirit that claimed the groundhog Punxsutawney ...

In 1886, a local Punxsutawney newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, was also part of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, which started as a groundhog hunting club. Freas is credited with starting the holiday ...

Shed hunters are often big game hunters themselves, and responsible ones recognize that not pressuring deer and elk in winter is not only the respectful thing to do, it also increases that herd’s ...