Webster, WV

During the Civil War, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis allowed Union Gen. George McClellan to establish headquarters at her house in Webster, W.Va., to plan the war’s first land battle. But the compassionate mother was quick to preface her hospitality—she would open her home to wounded soldiers wearing both blue and gray.

It’s a little-known fact born from a corner of rural West Virginia flooded with rich history, and Jarvis is a big part of it, for she ultimately inspired what’s now celebrated internationally as Mother’s Day.

During the Civil War, Jarvis hosted mother’s day clubs at her home during which she taught young mothers about health and hygiene for themselves and their babies, such as how to sanitize bottles to avoid dysentery. After the war, she organized “Mothers Friendship Day” to help mend emotional wounds between families from both the Union and the Confederacy.

Ann Marie’s daughter, Anna Jarvis, was born in that house May 1, 1864, and grew up watching her mother’s tireless efforts.

“Her mother always said, ‘I wish we could set aside a day to honor mothers,’” explains Olive Crow, co-founder of The Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum in Webster. “‘They do so much. They are the backbone of America.’”

Anna earned a degree in German at what is now Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va. She taught school in Grafton and worked as a clerk in Philadelphia before returning home to care for her mother, who died May 9, 1905.

From that day on, Anna was determined to honor all mothers for their devotion to families and communities.

She sent thousands of letters, including one to each of the country’s governors, trying to establish a national holiday.

Three years after her mother’s death, she sent 1,000 carnations to Andrews United Methodist Episcopal Church in neighboring Grafton to commemorate her mother’s death and to honor all mothers—making it the site of the first Mother’s Day celebration on May 10, 1908. The church later was proclaimed the International Mother’s Day Shrine.

Services are no longer held there, but visitors can tour the shrine on weekdays to view artifacts and the preserved church where Ann Marie taught Sunday school. The shrine, open from April to October, has its original pews and stained-glass windows.

Anna Jarvis’ work didn’t end after that first Mother’s Day celebration.

“In 1914, she traveled all over the United States and the world promoting Mother’s Day,” Crow says. “She said, ‘You need to remember your mother: Don’t send her flowers or cards, go see her.’”

That same year, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the second Sunday of every May be recognized nationally as Mother’s Day. The holiday now is celebrated on different days in 52 countries.

Today, the Jarvis house in Webster has been renovated into The Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum, which helps tell the story of the two progressive Jarvis women who left a lasting footprint on society.

It’s a story Olive Crow has devoted her life to telling. Nearly a decade ago, Crow and her friend, Tom Dadisman, acquired the rickety 19th-century Jarvis house and began restoring it.

On Mother’s Day 1994, the couple and 95 visitors celebrated the first service at the house.

Since then, Crow and Dadisman have given thousands of dollars and hours to the museum, dedicated in 1996. Each year during Mother’s Day weekend, they host a Founder’s Festival with food, artisans, and entertainment. The weekend’s highlight comes when one woman is chosen as the distinguished mother of the year.

Dadisman, a carpenter, has done nearly all the work on the house, but the state has funded a pavilion area and welcome center. Last year, some 5,000 people visited the museum.

After years of researching the Jarvis’ lives and gathering 5,000 period artifacts—ranging from Anna Jarvis’ clothes and postcards to a picture of McClellan—Crow has given tours through the house to groups from all 50 states as well as 26 countries.

In addition, she helps coordinate tours to a nearby Civil War-era mansion, a restored prison, and a one-room schoolhouse, along with tours of the site of the Civil War’s first land battle at Philippi on June 3, 1861.

Crow, a mother of two who works full time at the museum, says the Jarvis women should be remembered as pioneers, not only for women, but also for humanity. It’s a job Crow takes seriously—and selflessly.

“We don’t get paid.” Crow says. “It’s our love project.”

Margie Mason is a freelance journalist and a West Virginia native. She now resides in California.

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