Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum

Text and Photos by Candy Thompson

The Anna Jarvis house is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located in the small community of Webster, four miles south of Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia. The two-story wooden house was built in 1854, by Anna’s father Reverend Granville E. Jarvis. Back when the house was built,  Route. 250, which runs along in front of the house, was known as the Wheeling-Staunton Pike. It connected two of the biggest cities at that time—Wheeling, WV and Staunton, Virginia. 

Anna Jarvis was born on May 1, 1864. She was the ninth of eleven children born in the house. Only four of the children lived to adulthood.  Her father and mother, Mrs. Ann Reeves Jarvis, occupied the home for eleven years during one of the most exciting times in American History. Anna would grow up to be the founder of Mother’s Day [see “But After All Was She Not a Masterpiece as a Mother and a Gentlewoman” by Marie Tyler-McGraw, Spring 1977; and “Profiteers, Charity Charlatans, and Anti-Mother Propagandists”: Anna Jarvis and the Enemies of Mother’s Day by Katharine Lane Antolini, Spring 2017 for more on the life of Anna Jarvis and the founding of Mother’s Day].  

Anna’s family were notable participants in the Underground Railroad. Assisting and hiding escaped slaves under the kitchen floor. The basement had a hidden room that could only be accessed through a trap door in the kitchen. 

In the basement, through the door on the side of the kitchen, there is a continuous flowing stream of cold water in a trough. The water maintains a year round temperature of 52 degrees. The Jarvis’s used this as cold storage to keep perishable items like milk. In her mother’s cupboard in the kitchen, Mrs. Jarvis kept a real pineapple. This was a symbol to let company know that the family was wealthy enough to feed them.

Facing the house on the right side is the “Whistling porch.” The summer kitchen is connected to this porch. As the servants carried the prepared food from the summer kitchen back into the main house, they were expected to whistle. This was to keep them from nibbling on the prepared food while they carried it across.

In the parlor is the Jarvis family’s late 1800s Steinway and Sons Victorian Square Grand Piano. On Sundays, Rev. Granville and Ann would bring their children into the parlor to sing and play the piano. Today, placed on the piano is the last photo taken of Mrs. Jarvis before her death in 1905, and the last known photo of Anna Jarvis, taken in 1932.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms. One bedroom was for the Jarvis’ family’s younger children up to six years old; one bedroom for children seven years old and up; the master bedroom which has a huge fireplace and pressing closet for clothes; and a guest bedroom for overnight company.

During the Civil War, Anna’s mother nurtured and attended to wounded soldiers, from both the North and the South, in their home. After the war ended, Mrs. Jarvis talked with approximately 5,000 soldiers. She stayed in contact and remained friends with them for the rest of their lives.

The Jarvis house was the first field headquarters of General George McClellan. During the civil war his troops were encamped across the road in what is now called the Ocean Pearl Felton Historic Park. Today, one room in the Jarvis home is devoted to McClellan memorabilia.

A copy of the world-famous Bixby letter that Lincoln wrote and signed for a grieving mother, who had five sons die during the civil war, is on display in the McClellan room. It is hanging on the left side of President Abraham Lincoln’s picture above the brick fireplace.

When Anna Jarvis was growing up, she would often hear her mother say that she hoped someone would someday establish a memorial for all mothers. Once during a Sunday School lesson on “Mothers of the Bible” Mrs. Jarvis closed by saying “I hope that someone, sometime will found a memorial Mother’s Day commemorating Mother’s, for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”

Anna’s mother organized a series of Mother’s Day Work Clubs in Webster and other nearby towns. She was trying to teach and improve poor health and sanitary conditions. The existing conditions had contributed to the high mortality rate of children in the area. The clubs provided medication, inspected bottled milk and food (storage and preparation). The clubs also hired women to work in the homes where the mothers were feeling ill and needed help with children.

Because of her mother’s endless displays of love and kindness, Anna embarked on a campaign to establish Mother’s Day as a national holiday. On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution proclaiming Mother’s Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the second Sunday in May (Anna had attended Augusta Female Academy in Staunton, VA, where she met Mr. Woodrow Wilson).  When he became president, Anna was able to get an audience with him and that’s when he signed Joint Resolution 263 making Mother’s Day a legal holiday.

 Anna also started the tradition of wearing white and red carnations to honor all mothers. A white carnation was worn to honor a deceased mother. A red carnation to honor a living mother. 

The Anna Jarvis Birthplace is a compassionate home to visit and take a step back in time. A home that was full of love and hope in leading changes, for a better tomorrow, for all mothers. Inside the home are also many gifts donated by people from around the world. From dolls and dishes to quilts and lace tablecloths, it would be a wonderful place to share with your Mom, daughter, sister, or other loved ones. 

You can see information on visiting the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum by visiting their Facebook page Anna Jarvis Museum or calling 304-265-5549. Open Tuesday – Saturday 10 am to 2 pm, April 1 – Dec 31. Stop in the welcome center across the street to arrange a tour ($5 admission) and browse the gift shop.