History oF 

There are two stories of when the first father's day was celebrated.According to some accounts , the first father's day was celebrated in Washington state on June 19 , 1910. A woman by the name of sonora smart dodd came up with the idea of honoring and celebrating her father while listening to a Mother" s day sermon at church in 1909.

Sonora's dad was quite a man. William smart ,a veteran of the civil war,was left a widower when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child.

He went on to raise the six children by himself on their small farm in Washington.

To show her appreciation for all the hard work and love William gave to her and her siblings,sonora thought there should be a day to pay homage to him and other dads like him.

The other story of the first father 's day in America happened all the way on the other side of the country in fairmont,west Virginia on July 5, 1908.

Grace golden Clayton suggested to the minister of the local Methodist church that hold services to celebrate father's after a deadly mine explosion killed 361 men.