Last updated: June 13, 2023
Place
Dodd House
Photograph by Linda Yeomans, courtesy of the Washington State Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
Spokane, Washington
Significance:
Architecture, Social History
Designation:
Listed in the National Register – Reference number 10000417
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Private
The Dodd House, in Spokane, Washington, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. It is significant as the home of Sonora Smart Dodd, the founder of Father's Day, as well as being architecturally significant as an example of a bungalow in the Craftsman style.
Sonora Smart Dodd grew up in Spokane, Washington. When she was sixteen years old, her mother died in childbirth, leaving behind six children and Dodd's father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart. As the only daughter and oldest child, Sonora and her father worked closely to raise her five younger brothers. Her close relationship with her father, and her respect for his selflessness and the sacrifices he made as a single father, inspired her to advocate for the creation of Father's Day.
In 1909, while attending a Mother's Day church service (itself a relatively new holiday), Dodd had the idea to create an equivalent holiday to celebrate fathers. Working with local Spokane ministers, Dodd helped plan the nation's first Father's Day service, which was held in June 1910. The holiday was well-received by locals and national figures alike, including William Jennings Bryant. Heartened by the reception, Dodd then embarked on six-decade long campaign to achieve national recognition for the holiday, and for fathers like Dodd's. Aligned with groups like the Boy Scouts of America, the National Federation of Women's Clubs, and the International Father's Day Association, the coalition was victorious in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a Congressional resolution that made Father's Day a national holiday.
Sonora Smart Dodd grew up in Spokane, Washington. When she was sixteen years old, her mother died in childbirth, leaving behind six children and Dodd's father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart. As the only daughter and oldest child, Sonora and her father worked closely to raise her five younger brothers. Her close relationship with her father, and her respect for his selflessness and the sacrifices he made as a single father, inspired her to advocate for the creation of Father's Day.
In 1909, while attending a Mother's Day church service (itself a relatively new holiday), Dodd had the idea to create an equivalent holiday to celebrate fathers. Working with local Spokane ministers, Dodd helped plan the nation's first Father's Day service, which was held in June 1910. The holiday was well-received by locals and national figures alike, including William Jennings Bryant. Heartened by the reception, Dodd then embarked on six-decade long campaign to achieve national recognition for the holiday, and for fathers like Dodd's. Aligned with groups like the Boy Scouts of America, the National Federation of Women's Clubs, and the International Father's Day Association, the coalition was victorious in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a Congressional resolution that made Father's Day a national holiday.