MOTHERS DAY CELEBRATED SINCE 1908

(05/14/2023)
Mother's Day - Well over 100 years since Grafton native Anna Jarvis, who conceived the observance, was able to persuade Congress and President Woodrow Wilson to designate the second Sunday in May as an official U.S. holiday.

Jarvis held the first Mother's Day service at Andrews Methodist Church in 1908 on the third anniversary of the death her mother, social activist Ann Jarvis.

The elder Jarvis was known for her life of public service, organizing Mother's Day Work Clubs in the period leading up to the Civil War to perform charity, women's education and public health work.

During the war, the elder Jarvis treated wounded soldiers of both sides of the conflict.