(WHTM) — Although Waterloo, New York, is officially recognized as the origin of Memorial Day, a city in Pennsylvania claims to be the birthplace of the historic holiday.

Many communities have made this claim; however, according to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book (PCB), two have merit: Waterloo, New York, and a small village in Centre County, Pennsylvania called Boalsburg.

The PCB says the village of Boalsburg claims to be the site of the earliest observation of Memorial Day, then known as Decoration Day.

According to the PCB, the Men of Boalsburg, an abolitionist community led by Professor James Patterson, answered President Abraham Lincoln’s call for Union Army volunteers, leaving their wives, sisters, and daughters behind. The PCB says the women of Boalsburg organized daily meetings, prepared packages and uniforms, and arranged concerts to raise funds for their wounded husbands, sons, and fathers.

On September 19, 1864, five men of Boalsburg, including Dr. Reuben Hunter, were killed during the Civil War, which inspired three women to visit the fallen soldiers’ graves. The PCB says Emma Hunter, Dr. Hunter’s daughter, Elizabeth Meyer, whose son, Amos Meyer, was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, and Sophie Keller shared a bouquet of flowers to decorate the graves of their fallen family members and friends.

According to HistoricBoalsburg.com, the three women made a pact to return to the gravesite the next year to honor their loved ones again, as well as others who may not have loved ones to mourn them. They met on July 4, 1865, where they turned the event into a community service and decorated every grave in the cemetery.

The event became known as “Decoration Day,” and then General John A. Logan decreed that “The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion…[and] will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades.”

The holiday was recognized until it was changed to Memorial Day in 1967 and moved to the last Monday of May in 1971 to create the three-day weekend, per the PCG.

Memorial Day’s true origins are disputed, as Boalsburg’s timeline has raised some concerns, and other cities claim they are the origins of the holiday, including Columbus, Georgia, and Columbus, Mississippi. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson designated Waterloo, New York, as the official birthplace of Memorial Day on May 26, 1966, according to the American Presidency Project.