The outside of the Mount Gulian Homestead at 145 Sterling Street in the Summer of 2024
The sign that welcomes you
On my last trip to the Hudson River Valley to visit the great houses of the Hudson, I came across Mount Gulian, a Dutch manor that I never heard of in all my visits. This smaller Dutch manor house is actually a reconstruction of an 18th century home that burned to the ground by arson in 1931. The original house had been built between 1730 and 1740 and added onto over the next two centuries.
Christmas Time at Mount Gulian in the three weekends in December:
Mount Gulian at Christmas in December of 2021
The historic plaque in front of the house
The house officially had closed for the season at the end of October and was decorated for the holidays for the weekend between December 14-16th to represent the Dutch celebrations. There had been a Children’s tea the Monday before the New Year, so the house was closing down for the season. As the ladies that worked there were taking down the garlands, mistletoe and trees, the curator Amy, let me wonder the rooms as long as I did not get in their way.
The beautiful garland and lights adorn the house at Christmas time
The front door is very welcoming for the holidays
The front door was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season
The house as you enter through the front door
The house is very unique. You would have never known it was a reconstruction. The house really looked its age. The funny part of the house is that is at the very back of an old estate that had been developed with townhouses from the main road to almost the border of the house’s property, so it was strange to drive through to find the house. Once in the semicircular driveway, you plunge back into time.
The Hallway decorated for Christmas
The Hallway decorations in more detail
The Staircase to the Second Floor (Closed) was beautifully decorated for the holidays
The large porch in the front of the house looks over what’s left of the lawn and the housing developments. Once inside you enter the foyer and long hallway with rooms on each side. Each room was or had been decorated for the holidays with garland, mistletoe, fruits and a Christmas tree in one room, a kind of mixture of old Dutch meets Victorian Christmas. Still the effects were nice and it was very festive.
The furniture in the hallway decorated for Christmas in 2024
The furniture in the Hallway was nicely decorated for the holidays
What I enjoyed is that in each room, there were stories of the Verplanck family and the role that they played in the formation of the community and in the nation as well. In real life though, this much decorating would not have been done. This is a more elaborate look on how the Victorians would have decorated the house. The Dining Room would have been one of the most elaborate for entertaining during the holiday season for dining and entertaining.
Until the Victorian Age, things had been kept very simple. You would have decorated the house before Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day, there would have been an afternoon church service and a nice lunch. Gift giving did not come into play until after the Civil War.
The Dining Room set for Christmas dinner in 2024
The full view of the Dining Room
The Dining Room Table and the fireplace mantle
The back part of the Dining Room
The Dining Room sideboard decorated for the holidays
The Historic Documents in the Dining Room with a funeral dress (why this was here I was not too sure)
The elaborate decorations between the windows in the Dining Room
The detailed decorations on the Dining Room table ready for a wonderful Christmas dinner
The beautiful fresh Christmas tree in the corner of the Dining Room in 2024
All of the rooms had artifacts that the family keeps donating the house as most of the original furnishings were destroyed in the 1931 fire. Still the furnishings are vintage to the time period. Here and there are stories of the house, the people that lived here and about the family in their daily lives. There were also stories of the Revolutionary War and its headquarters of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. There was also a display on the founding of the Society of the Cincinnati, a Veterans group.
The Order of Cincinnati at Mount Gulian
The history of Mount Gulian and the surrounding area
The history of Mount Gulian and the surrounding area
The main room decorated for the Children’s Tea in the room of the Order of Cincinatti information
The Main Room set up for the tea
The back part of the room with its elaborate details
The beautiful window decorations in the main room
The Children’s Christmas Tea menu at Mount Gulian for the late December event
The Christmas tree in the corner of the room by all the portraits and photos of the members
The Kitchen in the basement area is one of the areas of the home that survived the 1932 fire when the house burnt to the ground. It would not have been used in modern times as a more modern kitchen was built in the newer area of the house. Still, this was decorated for the holidays to show the bounty of the Fall harvest and the items that would have been served for the Christmas holidays.
The kitchen decorated for Christmas in 2024
More detail on the Kitchen decorations
The Kitchen cabinets decorated for the holidays
The decorations on the Kitchen table in the basement area
The windows in the basement were decorated as well in the Gift Shop
The Gift Shop in the Basement area just off the Kitchen area
When I went back upstairs, we toured the Library and the Sitting Room just off the hallway and the Dining Room.
The Library decorated for the holidays
The Library decorations
The beautiful details of the window decorations
The cases of artifacts with the Christmas garlands decorating the top of the furniture
The other side of the Library cases and displays
According to family records, Christmas was a big holiday in the house with many members of the Ver Planck family enjoying the holidays together. The Drawing Room (where the Tea was taking place) was ‘decorated with pine over the doors and windows with wreaths of laurel and the berries of the bittersweet in various places and the room was aglow with a bright wood fire and candlelight and it was all adorned for Christmas. When the Drawing Room door was opened Christmas morning, the Christmas tree burst on our sight. It was lighted with little wax candles as the modern trees were but there were none of the stereotyped ornaments of tinsel and glitter. There were Lady Apples on the tree and oranges, cornucopias and toys and the sugar plums. The tree was always of laurel, reaching nearly to the ceiling and yet it looked small in that great room’ (William Samuel ‘Ver Planck Family History’). The current curators have done a nice job keeping this tradition alive in the decorations.
When I left the house, I visited the grounds over-looking the Hudson River. On the property behind the house was a ‘A frame’ Dutch barn. The barn was closed for the season but fit very well into the landscape of the estate. The view of the Hudson River was beautiful.
The Dutch Barn at Mount Gulian set up for a party
The view to the Hudson River from the house in the Summer
Don’t miss visiting the downtowns of Beacon and Wappinger Falls while visiting the area. Taking Route 9D is an interesting and scenic way to tour the area.
Downtown Beacon, NY at Christmas in 2021
Downtown Beacon, NY at Christmas time
Downtown Beacon at Christmas time
Mount Gulian in the Summer:
In the Summer of 2024, I returned to Mount Gulian to take a full tour of the estate in the summer when everything was in bloom. The same house but a different feeling than the Christmas holiday season. On the Summer tour, you are able to walk the gardens, the barn and the grounds around the house. Plus the gardens were in bloom so it was a more complete tour.
The back of Mount Gulian in the Summer of 2024
The back lawn on the Mount Gulian Homestead estate
The lawn to the gardens from the house
I started the tour of the property while I waited for my tour at 2:00pm. I walked the lawns and walked around the gardens. The property looked so much nicer than in the winter months. You can see the vibrance of the gardens and the beauty of the lawn and woods against the house. The gardens were well maintained and the flowers were still in bloom in the late summer months.
The gardens with the house in the distance
When I started the tour of the house in the Summer of 2024, it was similar to the December tour in the description of the house but the tour guide discussed the house from the perspective of the family living here full time when they moved from their New York City home to the Hudson River Valley permanently.
The Living Room with original furniture from the Verplanck family
Our first stop was in the Living Room where original family furnishings decorate the room. The family would gather in this room for specials occasions and holidays. The tour guide explained that the room contained some items that used to be in the original house including the portrait of the last resident of the house, Virginia Verplanck before the house burned down in the 1930’s.
The Verplanck Family china
Portrait of Virginia Verplanck as a child. She was the last Verplanck to live in the house
The Library
Revolutionary War artifacts in the house
The house was used by General Washington and his troops during the Revolutionary War and Baron von Steuben used the house during the war as well. The proximity both Washington’s Headquarters and the City made it an ideal location.
The portrait of the Baron Van Steuben
We next toured the kitchen, which had been decorated for a Dutch Christmas the last time I had visited. The hearth was from the original house and you could see how things were cooked in the open fire and then in the beehive oven where breads and cakes were cooked.
The kitchen in the basement
The cooking hearth and heat of the house
Cooking and Kitchen equipment
The items a cook would need to prepare meals in a Dutch kitchen.
The Grounds part of the tour:
After the full house tour, we went out to the grounds to see the barn and the gardens. The barn was the American Dutch style barn which was specific to this area. It was large and airy, enough to hold the crops and the animals in case of bad weather.
The Dutch Barn sign
The outside of the Dutch Barn
The Maitland bird holes in the barn to eat bugs on the hay and vegetables
My tour guide told me the unusual holes were that of the Maitland bird the could enter the barn to eat the bugs and insects on the crops and hay.
The inside of the barn set up for a future wedding
We next toured the gardens, which have been partly restored to their original design. They were in bloom with late summer flowers and decorative bushes and the layout was taken from early designs from the house.
The formal Gardens and Lawns tour:
The side of the house leading to the gardens
The semi circle in front of the house
The lawn between the house and the formal gardens used to be vegetable and fruit garden
The sign for the formal gardens
The formal flower gardens followed the original design the Virginia Venplanck had when she lived here
The beautiful gardens had been over grown in the years since the house burned down so volunteers and landscape architects had to cut down the woods and flow pictures and diagrams of the gardens to recreate them.
Entering the formal gardens
The middle of the gardens
The original trellis was still standing in the woods and it was rebuilt on its original spot
Walking through the trellis
The stone bench at the edge of the gardens
The back of the formal gardens
We ended the tour on the back lawn facing the Hudson River. The tour guide explained that the are thinking of trimming back the the woods near the river to better open up the view. This was probably true of the time of the house to pick up boats when moving around the river.
The views are spectacular now
The tour of the house and garden gives it a different perspective than at the holidays. It shows a working farm and an estate of a very prominent Hudson River family.
History of Mount Gulian:
The land where the house stands was purchased by two fur traders Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck on August 8, 1683. In exchange for 85,000 acres of land, they paid about $1,250 in goods. The Rombout Patent which formally granted the land to Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck was issued by King James II of England on October 17, 1685. After Gulian Verplanck’s death, his estate was eventually divided among divided among his heirs. Julian Verplanck II, a merchant from New York City, received 2880 acres, 400 of which were on a slope overlooking the Hudson River.
He named his estate Mount Gulian, in honor of his grandfather and had the first house on the site built between 1730 and 1740. The building was a small structure with an a-roof. Archaeological evidence suggests it was probably enlarged around 1767 and the characteristic gambrel roof as well as two porches were added between this year and the American Revolutionary War.
Mount Gulian in an early picture
The Revolutionary War years:
During the war, Gulian Verplanck’s son Samuel stayed at the house, while his wife, Judith Commerlin remained at the family mansion at 3 Wall Street in Manhattan. In early 1783, Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben made Mount Gulian his headquarters. At the same time, George Washington had his headquarters in Hasbrouck House, Newburgh on the opposite side of the Hudson River.
On the morning of May 13, 1783, a group of officers of the Continental Army met at Mount Gulian to found the Society of the Cincinnati. Mount Gulian is headquarters of the Society’s New York State branch. The building was extended by in 1804 by Daniel Crommelin Verplanck, the grandson of Gulian Verplanck II, who also laid out the garden. When Marquis de Lafayette visited the house on his return to America in 1824, he stayed in the new addition.
The Gardens of Mount Gulian at Christmas in 2021
In 1803, upon the death of Judith Commerlin Verplanck, the family mansion at 3 Wall Street was closed and much of its furnishings moved to Mount Gulian. In 1849, construction of the Hudson River Railroad cut off access to the Verplanck boat and bathhouse at the end of the property at the shoreline.
The view to Hudson River from Mount Gulian
The Restoration of the House:
The original mansion was destroyed in a fire laid by an arsonist in 1931. After this, the house laid in ruin and was left unattended until 1966, when Bache Bleecker, a descendant of the Verplanck family and his wife, Connie, founded the Mount Gulian Society, as a nonprofit private organization. The goal reconstructed the house to the state it was when it served as von Steuben’s headquarters. The interior contains artifacts related to the Verplanck family. The 18 century Dutch barn was moved here as well.
(This information came from Wiki and I give them full credit for the information)
History of the Verplanck Family:
Mount Gulian is the Hudson Valley colonial homestead of the Verplanck family. Between 1633 and 1638, a Dutch entrepreneur named Abraham Isaac Verplanck arrived in New Netherlands Colony (now New York and New Jersey) from Holland. He originally came to purchase land for a farming settlement and trading post.
The trading post would enable him to trade Dutch goods with the local Native Americans in exchange for beaver and other furs, Indian tobacco and trade goods that were rare in Europe. New Amsterdam was a thriving port and frontier town, filled with Dutch settlers, Indians and traders from all over Europe, Africans, both freemen and slaves, as well as French Huguenots seeking to escape from religious persecution in Europe and Jews fleeing the Inquisition in South American came to a relatively tolerant and busy New Amsterdam.
Abraham Issac Verplanck settled in the growing city and became a prosperous businessman. he married Maria Vigne Roos by 1635, they had Abigail and Gulian (Gulyn is Old Dutch for William), Catalyna, Isaak, Sussanna, Jacomyntje, Ariaentje, Hillegond and Isaak II moved to Albany and established the Verplanck line in that city, which exists today.
In 1664, an English nave appeared off the coast of New Amsterdam and demanded the city’s surrender. The Dutch surrendered their colony, swore loyalty to the British Crown and saw the city renamed New York. The Verplanck’s spoke Dutch but were now English citizens. By the 1680’s, Gulian Verplanck was sailing up the Hudson River looking for land to increase his wealth.
In 1683, with partners Francis Rombout and Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Gulian Verplanck bought 85,000 acres of land from the local Wappinger Indians for approximately $1200 worth of goods. About 75 miles north of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River for miles and going inland into rich meadows and forests, encompassing nearly one-seventh of modern Dutchess County, NY in today’s Fishkill-Beacon area, the purchase was quite a bargain. In 1685, the Deed of Sale was approved by King James II of England and is known as the Rombout Patent.
For the next forty-five years, Verplanck, Rombout and various partners and heirs sub-divided, sold off and rented portions of this huge tract of land, while logging, hunting and planting crops on the land.
During the English colonial period, the Verplanck’s became quite prosperous and built a fine home on Wall Street in Manhattan. The Verplanck’s were civic minded and participated in the development of the business and banking industry in New York City and were among the Trustees of Kings College, now known as Columbia University. Around 1730, a colonial-style fieldstone house was built in Fishkill Landing on the Rombout Patent land.
This rough frontier home was gradually surrounded by a working plantation, a dock on the Hudson that facilitated the New York-Kingston-Albany trade and many service buildings for servants and crop production. This homestead was called “Mount Gulian”, and it was used as a summer retreat for the family and a working plantation, but it is not believed that any family member lived at the site year-round until the early 1800’s. Other Verplancks at this time lived in Albany and Verplanck Point in Westchester County, NY.
The Verplancks were prominent citizens in colonial New York while maintaining correspondence with their Dutch relatives in Holland. Young Samuel Verplanck was fortunate enough to take “the grande tour” of Europe in 1761. As businessmen of that era, it must be noted that the Verplancks of Manhattan and Mount Gulian owned slaves during the mid-1700’s and into the early 1800’s, most likely house servants and skilled laborers.
Before the Revolutionary War, Samuel Verplanck became involved with anti-British groups and joined “the Committee of Safety of One -Hundred” in Manhattan. This patriot group was poised to take over the city in the event of rebellion, which occurred on April 19, 1775 at Lexington & Concord.
Later during the War for Independence, Verplanck turned over Mount Gulian to the Continental Army because of its strategic location on the Hudson near the Fishkill Barracks and across from Washington’s Headquarters at Newburgh. In late 1782, through the summer of 1783, Mount Gulian was the Continental Army headquarters of patriot General Fredrich Von Steuben. After the American victory at Yorktown, upon learning of the Treaty of Paris, General Von Steuben and other Chief American officers created at Mount Gulian on May 13, 1783, the Society of the Cincinnati, America’s first veterans’ fraternal organization.
In 1804, Daniel Crommelin Verplanck, a member of Congress moved from Manhattan to permanently occupy the home at Mount Gulian, which underwent extensive expansion with the addition of a large frame house attached to the original homestead. An ornamental “English Garden”, all the rage in Europe at the time, was laid out by him and his daughter, Mary Anna to supplement the 6 acres “kitchen garden” and the fields filled with salable crops. More permanent structures were built on the property, still thousands of acres, including barns, smokehouses, storage buildings and structures to facilitate brick making from clay taken from the Hudson.
The Verplanck family grew and eventually married into many prominent families in New York such as the Schuyler’s, the Johnsons, the Delancey’s and the Bleecker’s. Daniel’s son, Gulian C. Verplanck, also a member of Congress, ran for Mayor of New York in 1834, losing what many believe was a fixed election. Other Verplancks were judges, businessmen and wealthy farmers.
With slavery abolished in New York in 1827, the conservative Verplancks, along with many upper-class Northerners, gradually sided with the abolitionists, even hiring and assisting James Brown, an escaped slave who worked for the family for forty years. Brown’s diaries, written at Mount Gulian, provide a detailed record of daily life there.
During the Civil War, Robert Newlin Verplanck volunteered in the Union Army’s United States Colored Troops, training and fighting alongside black troops until the victory at Appomattox. His battlefield letters to his mother and sister have been preserved by Mount Gulian.
The Victorian era at Mount Gulian was a grand time, as the family associated with the local Livingstons, Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. Many Verplancks achieved fame in the professions, in arts and letters and as sportsmen. Verplanck Colvin was a topographical engineer who extensively surveyed the Adirondacks. Virginia E. Verplanck was a celebrated gardener and hostess. John Bayard Verplanck was an early seaplane flyer, racing World War I era veteran and banker.
The history of the area around Mount Gulian
Mount Gulian was occupied by the Verplancks until 1931, when the house was destroyed by fire. Many of the furnishings and valuable were saved by family members, neighbors and firemen who cleared the house before it was fully engulfed.
Prior to the American Bicentennial of 1976, Mount Gulian was beautifully restored with the assistance of Verplanck descendants, local history lovers and members of the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1998, Mount Gulian sponsored a well-attended family reunion, which included an updated version of the family genealogy book originally from 1892. Today Ms. Charlotte Verplanck Willman is one of the Mount Gulian Historic Site’s Board of Trustees.
The Order of Cincinnati
(This information was taken from the Mount Gulian Society website and I give them full credit for the information.)
After the tour, it was a long walk in Downtown Beacon, NY to picture taking and window shopping.
Downtown Beacon, NY in the summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY in the summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY in the summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY falls in the summer of 2024
I also visited Downtown Beacon in December of 2024 for the pre-Christmas holiday season and the whole downtown was decked out for the holidays.
The Mountains behind the downtown glitter with the recent snowfall
The edge of Downtown where the church is located
The downtown was decorated with wreaths and garland topped with fresh snow
The store fronts during Christmas time in Downtown Beacon, NY
The Falls at Christmas time
The Downtown Beacon decorations for the holidays
The festive and very creative signs of the merchants in the downtown area
Downtown Beacon decorated for the holidays at dusk as the lights came on
More merchant signs downtown
Each lamppost was festive and nicely decorated for the holidays
On my last trip to the Hudson River Valley to visit the great houses of the Hudson, I came across Mount Gulian, a Dutch manor that I never heard of in all my visits. This smaller Dutch manor house is actually a reconstruction of an 18th century home that burned to the ground by arson in 1931. The original house had been built between 1730 and 1740 and added onto over the next two centuries.
The house officially had closed for the season at the end of October and was decorated for the holidays for the weekend between December 14-16th to represent the…
I was working on a new project for the Lodi Memorial Library to have a Groundhog’s Day celebration but try to find a groundhog in New Jersey. No zoo or natural group had one so we revamped the event for the first day of Spring and will have a rabbit (See Lodi Larry comes to the Library Day: Day Forty MywalkinManhattan). When the event fell through and all this talk of Groundhog’s Day I decided to go to the source and off I went to celebrate Groundhog’s Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
‘Lodi Larry’ the rabbit
My blog on “Lodi Larry Comes to the Library” at the Lodi Memorial Library:
Punxsutawney is about five hours from my house so it was not the quickest trip but it is all straight highway down Route 80 until you get to Route 219 and then a turn off onto Route 119 South where you twist and turn until you get to Punxsutawney, a sleepy little former coal mining and coke town.
I will let all readers know that Punxsutawney is not the town in the movie, ‘Groundhog’s Day’. That movie was shot on location in Woodstock, IL. Punxsutawney in real life is somewhat rundown and in need of a much refurbishing in the downtown area. Several buildings in the downtown area have burned down over the years and have not been replaced by the nicest buildings. A lot of storefronts are empty and many of the buildings could use a paint job.
The real Downtown Punxsutawney, PA.
On the positive note, there are a lot of good restaurants, try Punxsy Pizza at 115 N. Findley Street and Frank’s 115 West Mahoney Street at downtown, and a nice green square park in the middle of town and a wonderful historical society.
The Punxsutawney Historical & Genealogical Society at 401 Mahoning Street
The history of Groundhog’s Day Punxsutawney was founded in the traditions of the Romans, who carried the myth to the Germans during the Roman invasions many centuries ago. The story was also based on a Scottish couplet:
‘If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.’
Candlemas Day is celebrated on February 2nd. It was determined that if any animal came forth from its underground hibernation on that day and the sun were out, there would be six more weeks of winter. Thus, was born the tradition of the ‘two winters’ or the ‘second winter’.
Gobblers Knob historical signs.
What began as a tale from ancient times was translated into action in the early 1880’s when a few Pennsylvania residents living in Punxsutawney decided to celebrate Candlemas Day each year by taking themselves into the woods in search of a groundhog.
By 1886, the group had the volunteer efforts of a local newspaper making their forest foray more official and the “Punxsutawney Groundhog Club” was formed with the express purpose of making sure that their groundhog was the official weather forecaster.
For many years, the actual location where the groundhog was observed always known as “Gobblers Knob” was kept a secret. About 20 years ago it was agreed that keeping it a secret had no further purpose and reports of the Punxsutawney Groundhog known as Phil, were spread far and wide.
The crowds at Gobblers Knob in 2023.
In 1907, the hill for the weather works was referred to as “Groundhog Knob” in printed news accounts in Punxsutawney of Groundhog Day. A few years later a news story began referring to it as ‘Gobbler’s Knob’ “the woodchuck saw his shadow…with the sun striking a tangent with the lighting rod on Miller Stoops’ barn…the shadow shone with remarkable distinctness against the snow-clad side of Gobbler’s Knob.”
In the summer of 1966, with the inauguration of the first Punxsutawney Groundhog Festival, the town’s famous groundhog settled into a permanent home at a site near what was then the Sportsmen’s Club Park.
Gobbler’s Knob has been transformed from a place of imagination, from a pile of stones to a stage area raised high to provide better viewing for the crowds who arrive for the ceremony. Following the release of the film “Groundhog’s Day” with Bill Murray in 1993, there was a record crowd of 30,000 people who attended the Groundhog Day ceremony on the weekend of 1997.
The ceremony in Gobblers Knob in 2023.
Today, Phil lives in more sedate quarters. He is no longer forced to hibernate in the wilds of his hometown. Today in a normal habitat for his lifestyle, he lives in a specially created environment in the Punxsutawney Library.
While Phil is living the ‘good life’, his presence has made life good for other including humans-those other animals. Human interest in Phil has resulted in a continuous supply of groundhog souvenirs such as cookbooks and t-shirts. While groundhogs abound in other parts of the world and are known also as woodchucks and marmots, it is felt at least in Punxsutawney, PA that their ‘Phil’ is the only true prophet of the weather.
(By the Punxsutawney Are Historical and Genealogical Society)
It took me about five hours to get to Punxsutawney from home and I was exhausted by the time I got there at 4:00pm. I had stopped by Punxsy Phil’s Famous Restaurant at 116 Indiana Street on the way to the hotel at the recommendation of reviews on TripAdvisor (see restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor).
Punxsy Phil’s Family Restaurant at 116 Indiana Street
I thought the food was good, lots of breakfast items and entrees with thick gravies. I had a chicken fried steak with a sausage gravy and mashed potatoes. Very homey and filling and the service is very good. The food was homey and filling .
The Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli was delicious.
The Apple Pie a la mode hit the spot for dessert.
In 2016, I stayed at the Cobblestone Hotel at 188 Alliance Drive, just outside of town which was nice because I was away from all the hubbub of the event, and it was very quiet. The hotel is really nice, brand new only about a year old and the rooms are roomy and clean. (Note that the hotel closes down breakfast at 9:00am). The hotel was over-priced for the first night because it was the night before Groundhogs Day and then went down for Wednesday night.
My first night there I did not get much sleep. I got into the room around 5:00pm and took an hour nap. Then it was off to activities in town. By the time I arrived in town most everything was over for the day with the exception of the open house at the Punxsutawney Area Historical and Genealogical Society at 400-401 West Mahoney Street. They had tours of the Society both in 2016 and in 2024.
The Lattimer Mansion at 401 West Mahoning Street that houses some of the collection.
That was interesting as I toured the Bennis and Lattimer Houses, which are right across the street from one another. The museum gave an interesting history of both the families and the town. The Bennis Mansion was part of Millionaires Row back when Punxsutawney was a Coke manufacturer (not the drug) of the area. You could tell by the homes on the street that there was serious money in town from about the Civil War until the Depression. The docents were really interesting and explained the history of the families that lived here.
I got to tour the houses and see all the artifacts that are stored in both homes. There is an interesting display of artifacts from the Native American tribes to the Coal Mining industry and Victorian family life in the area at the turn of the last century.
The Coal Mining display case at the Society.
The Native American display at the museum.
There was even a nice display of items from the film “Groundhogs Day” including an autographed copy of the script and posters from the film. That movie will forever be ingrained into this community.
The “Groundhogs Day” movie display at the Punxsutawney Historical Society.
After the house tours were over, I went back downtown to Punxsy Pizza at 115 North Findley Avenue, which I highly recommend when visiting Punxsutawney. Their sauce is really good and very flavorful, and I had one of their 13″ Calzones (see the review on TripAdvisor). It was more than a meal and the service were really good plus they were open late but even with the ceremony that morning, it was not that full.
The Calzones at Punxsy Pizza are amazing and are so big!
You have to order it with ham, pepperoni and sausage. It is delicious!
When I returned in 2024, I went back to Punxsy Pizza again for dinner and lunch the next day. After eight years, their pizza is still amazing and the calzones still could feed two people. The food is wonderful and the service very friendly. The family that runs the pizzeria is very nice.
I liked the food so much that I ate there twice in 2024. I had to have the calzone again because it is that good. I just wanted a snack the first night I arrived in 2024 and ordered an individual pizza with sausage because they do not sell pizza by the slice. It was freshly made for me and was delicious.
The personal pizza meal makes a good snack before the movies.
The pizza here is excellent.
Then off to the Civic Center two blocks away for the 11:00pm showing of “Groundhog’s Day” with Bill Murray. I have seen this movie about 100 times and saw it when it first came out in 1993 but I still enjoy watching it. It was when I was watching the film that I realized that the film was not shot in Punxsutawney. It was shot in Woodstock, Illinois.
The Punxsutawney Community Center at 209 North Jefferson Street
What was nice about seeing the film at the Community Center is that it is free and they have a really nice concession stand where they freshly popped popcorn with loads of butter and have things like pizza slices, candy and snacks at very reasonable prices. All of the proceeds got the Community Center and I thought that was very fair.
Phil as the Statue of Liberty in the downtown.
I never knew that the film was not shot here. I just assumed from the film that it was shot there but when I looked at the downtown where the scenes were shot, that was a much more vibrant and nicer downtown. I could see the difference. I could see that they were really trying to bring the downtown back but it would take some time. With a new hotel opening in 2025 and a extension of the IUP Culinary School taking up a block, there should be some changes when I return in the future.
The movie “Groundhog’s Day”:
I did not recognize any of the buildings and I walked the downtown five times. Also, you will notice in the film that Gobbler’s Knob is located in the downtown square and in real life Gobbler’s Knob is about a mile and a half outside the city.
Groundhog’s Day Trailer
In 2016, I went back to the room at the hotel for about two hours to relax and take a nap. I began to think the people who were spending the night at the Civic Center had a better idea. For $8.00, you can bring your sleeping bag and a pillow and spend the night there sleeping on the floor.
Frankly, with the amount of time that I spend in the room the first night and that it cost $375.00 for the room the first night versus $65.00 the second night, I would have preferred to spend the night at the Civic Center. They looked like they were having fun.
When I came in 2024, that is exactly what so did. I brought my pillow and blanket and spent $10.00 to stay the night(doors open at 10:00pm) and then you can watch the film ‘Groundhogs Day’ at the 11:00pm showing and than head to bed after the showing is over at 1:00am.
If I can offer any advice to anyone reading this blog and planning a trip to Punxsutawney for the holiday, stay at the Community Center the night before Groundhogs Day morning. You will save money, you will never be in that expensive room because you will want to be in Gobblers Knob by 4:00am and you will never see the inside of that room. I had a lot of fun meeting people at the Community Center and all the places they traveled from to come to the event. We ate snacks from the concession stand, had fun watching the late night film and then crashed until three in the morning until we got the bus to Gobblers Knob. It is more fun this way.
Watching the last showing of the movie “Groundhogs Day” is more enjoyable. There are also many reasonable snacks like a large popcorn for $4.00 with lots of extra butter, slices of pizza for $2.00 and candy at $2.00. They do not gouge you on this and the food is really good. By 10:00pm, they are collecting money from the crowd who are going to stay and we just dropped our sleeping bags, pillows and blankets on the floor and watched the film. Pajama party!
Then you sleep. Most people woke up at 3:00 am to enjoy the festivities. The first time I went, I was there by there by 3:00am. The second time, I wisened up and got there by 4:30pm. I had froze the last time at 3:00am and figured I had seen the acts before. I would come for the fireworks and the Opening Ceremony.
You catch the bus at the Green in downtown starting at 3:00am-6:00am. DO NOT miss the last bus at 6:00am or you have to walk up two miles.
In 2016, I left for the ‘Knob’ at 3:30am and you would be surprised how many people were already there. The VIP area was already filled. There was entertainment the whole night. Our two hosts were two of Phil’s handlers and they did their best to keep us entertained all morning. There were bands, disco music and singing to keep us pepped up. The time flew by.
Getting to Gobblers Knob at 4:00am for the entertainment.
By 6:00am, the place started to fill up more and there was more excitement in the air. My advice to people who want to come is if you want the full experience, then come at 3:00am when the event starts. If you want to just see the fireworks and see Phil, come at 5:00am. Don’t miss the fireworks display, that was a nice display.
The Governor of Pennsylvania was there that morning
By 7:30am, the handlers arrived in their formal wear and top hats and started the ceremony. Trust me, those of us who had been there all morning just wanted to know the report and get out of there. The handlers kept dragging it on and most of us feet were frozen by this point.
The Groundhog Club usually arrives by daybreak.
In 2016, the handlers got there by 7:00am but dragged the ceremony on for over an hour. I realized later that could have been due to the tv stations. It was like they never wanted Phil to come out. Even though it was about 20 degrees, it was not windy and did not seem cold. Still, we were all tired and wanted the ceremony to be over.
In 2024, the handlers did not waste any time. By daybreak, they were there in their formal wear again and got right to the ceremony, made the prediction that “Phil had not seen his shadow (it had been a cloudy morning) and Spring was on its way.” There was one more song and people raced to the busses back to town. Much quicker than eight years ago.
Seeing Phil is the highlight of the day at the start of the ceremony.
In 2016, Phil did not see his shadow and they said it will be an early Spring (it did not make much sense as it snowed as soon as I came home). By the time the event was over it started to head up to the 30’s. By the afternoon it went to 52 degrees and was sunny and bright.
Groundhog’s Day 2016
In 2024, the ceremony went by much quicker and the fireworks show was really good and lasted about a half hour. That was some show. Then the handlers came with the Governor and many other elected officials. Being a MAJOR election year in 2024, I could see that everyone wanted to be there for the exposure. They made sure to make themselves known that day.
They really had the place organized as there were about 15 buses waiting to pick everyone up. We got back to downtown Punxsutawney in about a half hour. This is when the event got strange. There were over 7000 people in the Knob that morning and while about 4000 went back home or back to work, there were a lot of people milling around downtown looking for something to eat and something to do after the ceremony.
In 2016, I went to the Elks Club for a buffet breakfast fundraiser, and it was mobbed! There must have been about 100 people ahead of me and about another 75 people behind me. The kitchen looked overwhelmed and could not keep up with the food. For $9.50 it was really nice. You had scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, potatoes, biscuits and gravy and coffee/tea and orange juice. Everyone was moving as fast as they could especially the woman collecting money who looked very happy.
In 2024, I wisened up and went to the McDonalds in the downtown for a quick Sausage McMuffin meal before I left. The restaurant was smart in staying open for 24 hours that night. It was packed before people left for Gobbler’s Knob.
The perfect meal at 4:30am at McDonalds.
When I returned town after the ceremony, they were serving hot chocolate and cookies complimentary at the Baptist Church inside by the bus drop off and that was very nice. I still needed a second breakfast.
In 2024, I stopped by the Elks again and they teamed up with the fire department and had a buffet breakfast for $10.00. I wanted to support my fellow brothers and ate there. There were eggs, sausage, waffles and hash browns and you could go back as much as you wanted. By 10:00am, they were gearing down but left the buffet open past the time and people were still walking in.
Visiting the Elks Club again to support the Punxsutawney Fire Department breakfast.
You can’t compete with a Firemen’s breakfast in the morning.
After breakfast, there was a bunch of vendors on the Green who also got over-whelmed with customers and there was a historical hayride that the Historical Society sponsored that I swear people where fighting to get tickets for the ride. It was really nice as they took you around town and told you the history of the area. There was another showing of the movie and then that was it by noon. Everything shut down.
In 2024, the Green was more active with multiple vendors, about a dozen food trucks, bands playing on stage and all sorts of activities for the families. Since the holiday fell on a Friday, this continued through the weekend. Somebody was thinking eight years later.
The Town Green had lots of food trucks and entertainment in 2023.
In 2016, all the souvenir shops were hopping, and I asked one of the ladies how they were doing, and she said they had a great day, better than expected. I don’t think the town expected so many people on a Tuesday morning and for the weather to be 52 degrees and sunny this late into winter. People were looking for things to do and places to eat. Even the McDonald’s was over-whelmed for breakfast and lunch. I heard the next day that many places ran out of food.
This is where the town failed the tourists. There was not enough to keep everyone occupied and by noon everything was closing on the Green and even the Historical Society had to run an extra hayride for the people that wanted to go on it. People just left town after lunch. Maybe the town wanted it that way, but I think they really lost an opportunity to make more money for the town had they kept the activities until into the early evening. Bad marketing!
Things changed for the better in 2024. I liked this big welcome!
Phi is all over Downtown Punxsutawney, PA.
In 2024 though there was lots more to do, more food venues and activities and more people stayed in town for the weekend. This will be smart business to build on for the next two years as the holiday will fall on the weekend. I think the town realized that more people want to stay and enjoy what Punxsutawney has to offer. The stores, restaurants and the downtown was hopping with people. They ended up staying through the weekend (some had to as the hotels and B & B’s asked for a two night minimum).
In 2016, I went back to my room for the rest of the day and relaxed. By the time I went out for gas and something to eat by 8:15pm, the place was dead and back to being the sleepy little town it had been before. I went to McDonald’s for a snack because that was all that was open by 9:00pm. Even the next morning when I left, it was a really sleepy town. Since Groundhog’s Day fell on a Tuesday, people went back to work the next day.
In 2024, Groundhog’s Day fell on a Friday and more people including myself for the weekend. I stayed the night again down at the Quality Inn in Indiana, PA and then came back up to take pictures. I took time in the morning to explore downtown Indiana and explore their historical society (watch the parking in downtown Indiana. It is not free on the weekends like New Jersey and they ticket before 7:00pm. I know as I got a $12.00 ticket that morning).
Downtown Indiana, PA with the Jimmy Stewart Museum and the Indiana Historical Society. Watch your parking meter! I miscalculated.
When I returned to Punxsutawney, the town was buzzing with activity this time around, maybe because it was the weekend. Though not the thousands the day before but a few hundred had stayed in town to explore and enjoy the town. The downtown was alive with bands, food and activities that kept families busy. The restaurants were all busy and they showed a 2:00pm filming of “Groundhog’s Day” at the Community Center.
Overall, Groundhog’s Day here was an interesting event, and you should experience it once. It is more exciting than the movie even though Punxsutawney could use some sprucing up. Still, it is a classic American event where TV does not capture the fun of it.
One of my favorite scenes of the film:
I have not had much of a chance to return to Punxsutawney, PA since 2016 but in 2019 and 2020 I went to the Staten Island Zoo to see Staten Island Chuck, the other famous Groundhog and their festival and then it was “Edwina of Essex” at the Turtle Back Zoo in 2022 and 2023. Groundhog’s Day was canceled in 2021 due to COVID but I’m back in 2024.
Here are my blogs on Groundhog’s Day:
Day One Hundred and Thirty-One: Visiting Staten Island Chuck at the Staten Island Zoo:
mywalkinmanhattan 