It is one of only six non-island locations in the 48 contiguous states not directly connected to them by land, which are exclaves of the U.S. The original name of the town, Alburgh, was changed to Alburg in 1891 by recommendation of the United States Board on Geographic Names.
In 1997, there were 35,000 visitors in Punxsutawney, five times the Jefferson County town's 6,700 population. The Groundhog Day festivities on February 2, 1992 were joined by Bill Murray studying for his role in the movie. Then, Columbia Pictures set out to recreate the Punxsutawney Groundhog Day down to the smallest detail. There were, however, many changes made.
In honor of Groundhog Day last week â when Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring (so we got that going for us [and, yes, I am mixing my Bill Murray movie references]) â Gallagher pinpointed the exact number of Groundhog Days Murrayâs Phil Connors endures in âGroundhog Day:â 12,403 days.