Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law recognizing Waterloo, New York, as the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Johnson signed the designation in 1966, after Waterloo’s longstanding claim that it had organized a community-wide remembrance for Civil War dead on May 5, 1866. The town’s observance included closing businesses, decorating graves, and displaying flags.
The federal recognition supported Waterloo’s historical claim but did not establish that no other community had held an earlier ceremony. Memorial Day developed from numerous local commemorations, particularly in the years immediately after the Civil War.
Johnson’s action came during the broader period when Memorial Day was becoming a standardized national holiday. The date was later placed on the last Monday of May under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.