This morning I looked through the North Carolina Newspapers collection to see how early I could find a mention of Groundhog Day. The oldest piece I found is this one, from the Sylvan Valley News in Brevard, published on February 5, 1904:
Groundhog Day 100 Years Ago
I also liked this piece, from the Winston Sentinel, reprinted in the Mebane Leader on February 9, 1911, with a great reference to “his hogship”: