Fairmont in Marion County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

First Father’s Day Service

By J. J. Prats, June 21, 2014

1. First Father’s Day Service Marker

Inscription. Sote pf Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal church, now Central United Methodist, where Father’s Day was first observed on July 5, 1908. Reverend Webb conducted the service upon the request of Mrs. Charles Clayton, daughter of Methodist minister Fletcher Golden, just two months after the first Mother’s Day observance at Grafton. National recognition of Father’s Day achieved in 1972 by congressional resolution.

Erected by West Virginia Department of Culture and History. (Marker Number MA7.)

Location. 39° 28.581′ N, 80° 9.04′ W. Marker is in Fairmont, West Virginia, in Marion County. Marker is at the intersection of Fairmont Avenue (U.S. 250) and 3rd Street (West Virginia Route 310), on the left when traveling north on Fairmont Avenue. Touch for map. It is in front of the United Methodist Church. Marker is at or near this postal address: 301 Fairmont Ave, Fairmont WV 26554, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. David Morgan (1721–1813) / Patriot, Defender (approx. 0.3 miles away);

By J. J. Prats, June 21, 2014

2. First Father’s Day Service Marker

The Colonel George S. “Spanky” Roberts, USAF Memorial Bridge (approx. half a mile away); Confederate Cemetery (approx. 0.6 miles away); A. Brooks Fleming House (approx. 0.7 miles away); Boaz Fleming (approx. 0.7 miles away); High-Level / Million Dollar Robert H. Mollohan Bridge (approx. 0.7 miles away); Marion County Courthouse (approx. 0.7 miles away); Fairmont (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fairmont.

Also see . . . Father’s Day in the United States - Wikipedia Entry. “A ‘Father’s Day’ service was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia, in the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church. Grace Golden Clayton was mourning the loss of her father when, on December 1907, the Monongah Mining Disaster in nearby

By J. J. Prats, June 21, 2014

3. First Father’s Day Service Marker

Monongah killed 361 men, 250 of them fathers, leaving around a thousand fatherless children. Clayton suggested her pastor Robert Thomas Webb to honor all those fathers. Clayton chose the Sunday nearest to the birthday of her father, Methodist minister Fletcher Golden.” (Submitted on July 5, 2014.)

Categories. • Notable Places •

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on July 5, 2014, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 312 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 5, 2014, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.