Which state was the first to make July 4 an official state holiday?

Massachusetts was the first state to make July 4 an official state holiday.

The Massachusetts General Court recognized July 4 as a state celebration in 1781, only five years after Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. This made Massachusetts the first state legislature to give the anniversary official statewide recognition.

Celebrations had already begun before that legal recognition. In 1777, Philadelphia marked the first anniversary with public festivities, including a naval salute, guns, decorations, and fireworks. Other towns and states soon developed their own observances, but those local traditions were not the same as a formal state designation.

A useful distinction is that Boston had earlier recognized July 4 as a municipal holiday. Massachusetts’ 1781 action was broader: it came from the state legislature and established the date as a statewide celebration. Independence Day did not become a federal holiday until 1870, and Congress later made it a paid federal holiday in 1941.