STAUNTON, VIRGINIA—In recognition of Congress and President Woodrow Wilson first proclaiming Mothers’ Day in 1914, all mothers will be admitted free-of-charge to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library on Sunday, May 10, Mothers’ Day.
The idea for Mothers’ Day is credited to another person with Staunton ties--Anna Jarvis, a graduate of Augusta Female Seminary, now Mary Baldwin College. Miss Jarvis led a campaign for a day that would honor mothers everywhere. Several years of campaigning and thousands of letters to elected officials made her dream a reality.
On May 8, 1914, the United States Senate and House of Representatives passed a joint resolution establishing the second Sunday in May as Mothers’ Day. The next day, May 9, President Wilson issued a proclamation, an excerpt of which is below:
Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.
Those interested in more information about Mothers’ Day or visiting the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library should contact Barbara Wimble, Manager of Visitor Services at the Presidential Library, at (540) 885-0897, ext. 106, or by email at bwimble@woodrowwilson.org.

