Anna Jarvis - Charleston, West Virginia - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

Anna Jarvis was born on May 1, 1864 in Webster, West Virginia. On May 12, 1907, two years after the death of her mother, Anna held a memorial service for her mother. After the service Anna embarked on a campaign to make “Mother’s Day a recognized national holiday. In 1914, she succeeded as the second Sunday in May was recognized as “Mother’s Day.” Ironically in the 1920, Anna has become so disenchanted with the commercialization of the holiday, she spent the rest of her life campaigning against it. One story about Anna is that she was so upset that people would only send their mother’s preprinted greeting cards that she said, “A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself.” Anna Jarvis died in poverty on November 24, 1948 and is buried in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Anna Jarvis was recognized by her native state when she became the first woman to be memorialized in the West Virginia State Capitol. The Anna Jarvis Memorial Bust was dedicated on November 9, 2001 and sits today in the rotunda of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston.

NOTE: The coordinates for this waymark were taken at the SOUTH entrance to the West Virginia State Capitol. Entering the Capitol here will allow you visit the second floor of the Capitol Rotunda where the statues and busts of several famous West Virginian’s stand, including the bust of Anna Jarvis.

URL of the statue: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/18/2011 Handyman & Fam visited it