Pennsylvania: Jefferson County

Jefferson County (pop. 45,200) is east of Clarion County. It’s one of the 26 counties (plus one parish) named, directly or indirectly, for President Thomas Jefferson.

Second from left

The county reached its peak population of 63,090 in 1910.

The county seat of Jefferson County is the borough of Brookville (pop. 3,924).

Jefferson County Courthouse (1869)

The Moonlite Drive-in in Brookville has been open since 1952. It stays open more of the year than many drive-ins, from March until late fall.

The Jefferson County History Center is operated by the Jefferson County Historical Society.

Opened in 2004

The largest community in Jefferson County is Punxsutawney (pop. 5,962), the “Weather Capital of the World.”

Every year on Feb. 2, on Gobbler’s Knob, groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicts whether or not there will be six more weeks of winter.

The ceremony dates from 1887.

The 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” featured Punxsutawney Phil.

Actually filmed in Illinois

During the rest of the year, Phil can be viewed at the Groundhog Zoo (now called Phil’s Burrow) – a terrarium that’s built into the Punxsutawney library.

Punxsutawney has a museum called the Weather Discovery Center inside the former Federal Building and Post Office (1914).

The community of Reynoldsville (pop. 2,759) was the hometown of baseball great Albert Walter “Sparky” Lyle. He was a relief pitcher for five Major League teams between 1967 and 1982.

Clear Creek State Park has hiking, fishing, hunting and canoeing, plus overnight accommodations in cabins and yurts.

NEXT: INDIANA COUNTY

Indiana: Franklin County

Franklin County (pop. 23,087) is south of Union County, along the border with Ohio. It’s one of 25 Franklin counties and parishes in the U.S.

Twenty-four of the Franklin counties were named for Benjamin Franklin; the one in Idaho was named for Franklin D. Richards (1821-1899), an apostle of the Mormon Church.

Ben (1705-1790)

The county seat of Franklin County is the town of Brookville (pop. 2,596).

Brookville in the fall

The Franklin County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1851

Skyward Adventures in Brookville has 10 zip lines and four sky bridges.

In the woods

Brookville is also the home of Wolf Creek Habitat, open to the public.

Weekends only

The town of Oldenburg (pop. 674) has been known as the “Village of Spires” because of its churches and other religious institutions.

The unincorporated community of Metamora, on the 19th-century Whitewater Canal, has canal rides, the Whitewater Valley Railroad, and a working gristmill.

The Duck Creek Aqueduct (1843), the last remaining covered wood aqueduct in the U.S., carries the Whitewater Canal over Duck Creek.

Restored in 1949

Grannie’s Cookie Jars and Ice Cream Parlor in Metamora has one of the world’s largest collections of cookie jars.

More than 2,000 cookie jars

NEXT: DECATUR COUNTY