Travel Tips

Things To Do On Mother’s Day – Museum Guide

Locations in this article:  Columbia, SC

Mother's Day Travel Ideas: Women's History MuseumsIf you think Mother’s Day is nothing more than a trumped-up Hallmark holiday, think again.

It took a number of influential people to make Mother’s Day an official event.

So why not celebrate Mom at one of these historic sites that pay tribute to this special day?

From the campaigns of Anna Jarvis and Julia Ward Howe to the signing of the bill in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson that created Mother’s Day, this is a history lesson you won’t want to miss…

Anna Jarvis House - Mother’s Day MuseumsAnna Jarvis Birthplace Museum, Webster, Virginia

Anna Jarvis is credited as being the “Mother of Mother’s Day,” despite never being married or having children of her own.

The death of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, prompted her to lobby for an official declaration of Mother’s Day, and in 1912, she created the Mother’s Day International Association.

Each year, the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum holds a Mother’s Day Founder Festival on the Saturday before the big day. In addition to music, crafts and games, this year’s festival will include speeches from mothers who have raised children in each decade from 1920 through present time.

The two-story wooden home is open April 1 through December 31, with tours available for $5 per person.

Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Photo from Mount Auburn CemeteryLong before Woodrow Wilson signed the bill recognizing Mother’s Day, Julia Ward Howe, author of The Mother’s Day Proclamation (and author of the famous song Battle Hymn of the Republic), held an annual Mothers’ Peace Day observance in Boston. Howe is now buried inside Mount Auburn Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark and America’s first “garden cemetery.” The cemetery represents a departure from traditional colonial burial grounds, visible through its art, architecture, plant life, and bird population.

Each year, visitors can honor Mother’s Day with a special walking tour of this outdoor museum, arboretum and wildlife habitat. Guests are invited to wander throughout the 175-acre property, looking at the burial sites of iconic female figures and various symbols of motherhood, such as floral motifs carved into marble. These tours are $10-$15 per person; maps can be purchased for 50 cents and audio tours can be purchased for $7.

Get more ideas in our Women’s Travel section.

International Mother’s Day Shrine and Museum, Grafton, Virginia

Anna Jarvis’ hometown of Grafton, Virginia, is home to a former church and National Historic Landmark that held the first organized Mother’s Day service. Now known as the International Mother’s Day Shrine, this National Historic Landmark hosts an annual Mother’s Day celebration that includes honoring a mother of the year.

Don’t miss: Mother’s Day Spa Deals & Packages.

Boyhood home of Woodrow WilsonThe Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson, Augusta, Georgia

Historic Augusta has fully restored the boyhood home of Woodrow Wilson to its original 1860’s decor. Home to 14 pieces of furniture used by the Wilson family, the grounds also features a garden, currently in full bloom, photographs of his mother, and the window where Wilson scratched his first name, “Tom.”

This historic Augusta home is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday on the hour every hour. Also taking place on Mother’s Day weekend is a downtown loft tour to 10 other historic sites in Augusta, including the Stovall-Barnes House, home to a childhood friend of Wilson’s who later became the Ambassador to Switzerland during World War I. Tickets for the downtown loft tour is are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, Staunton, Virginia

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, VAThis two-part museum experience features Woodrow Wilson’s birthplace as well as the historic museum dedicated to his life and presidency. His original home still has the bed in which he was born and the crib he slept in as a baby, as well as items belonging to his mother including her rocking chair and guitar. Inside the museum, visitors can see the original 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine that he used during his presidency and beyond. Special programming on Mother’s Day includes free admission and flowers for mom.

Historic Columbia Foundation Historic House Museums, Columbia, South Carolina

This Sunday, May 9, the Historic Columbia Foundation will host a Mother’s Day Brunch at the Seibels House and Garden. A presentation from the head of the costume design program in the University of South Carolina’s Department of Theater and Dance will compliment the southern-style buffet. The Robert Mills Historic District is also home to a boyhood home of President Woodrow Wilson where visitors can view the newly restored outside, and The Mann-Simons Cottage, one of the first houses owned by a freed black slave. Guided tours are available and maps are available for self-guided tours.

By Jessica Kate Soberman for PeterGreenberg.com.

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