Punxsutawney (/ˌpʌŋksəˈtɔːni/; Lenape: Punkwsutènay[4]) is a borough in southern Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States.

The first settlement that included non-indigenous people was established in 1772, when Reverend John Ettwein, a Moravian Church missionary, arrived with a band of 241 christianized Lenape.

[9][10] Swarms of gnats plagued early settlers and their livestock for years, and are blamed for Ettwein's failure to establish a permanent settlement there.

According to the story, the ashes were transformed into minute living things that infested the swamp land.

[11][12] Another story about the source of the term asserted that the indigenous people compared the insect bites to burns caused by sparks or hot ashes.

"[13] The Shawnee and Delaware left Pennsylvania and had settled in Ohio by the end of the American Revolution.

[10] The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Keystone Marker lists that Punxsutawney was founded in 1818.

[12] Settlers drawn by lumbering and coal mining eventually drained the swamps and exterminated the insects.

Shortly after 1850, mining was being supplanted by factories which included brickworks, glassworks, tanneries, foundries, ironworks, machine shops, and wood planing, flour, feed, and silk mills.

By the 1930s these were mostly gone, and townspeople were dependent largely on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad repair shops north of town, and a meat packing plant, in addition to the remaining coal mining and batteries of beehive coke ovens.

The mayor, Richard Alexander, is elected to a four-year term, and in addition to other duties, has oversight of its police department.

[19] Students may also attend Jefferson County-DuBois Area Vocational Technical School in nearby Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania.

[20][21] The Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) maintains a satellite branch in Punxsutawney, including a respected culinary school.

The Punxsutawney Fire Department maintains an active water rescue team comprising scuba divers and a boat crew.

Station 50 is a full advanced life support service comprising paramedics and emergency medical technicians.