History
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London, England on June 6, 1844 in response to unhealthy social conditions arising in the big cities at the end of the Industrial Revolution.
Growth of the railroads and centralization of commerce and industry brought many rural young men who needed jobs into cities like London. They worked 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. Far from home and family, these young men often lived at the workplace. They slept crowded into rooms over the company shops, a location thought to be safer than London's tenements and streets. Outside the shop things were bad-open sewers, pickpockets, thugs, beggars, drunks, lovers-for-hire and abandoned children running wild by the thousands.
George Williams, born on a farm in 1821, came to London 20 years later as a sales assistant in a draper's shop, a forerunner of today's department store. He and a group of fellow drapers organized the first YMCA to substitute Bible study and prayer for life on the streets. By 1851, there were 24 YMCA's in Great Britain, with a combined membership of 2,700. That same year the Y arrived in North America, first in Montreal and then in Boston.
The Y arrived in Mansfield, Ohio on December 30, 1867. It all started with a meeting at Central Baptist Church with a group of citizens who wanted to improve the spiritual, intellectual and social conditions of young men. The original group had about 120 members and elected the following officers: Rolieff Brinkerhoff, President; L.J. Bonar and E.J. Davis, Vice Presidents; James Allison, Secretary and J. H. Reed, treasurer.
During the early days of the Mansfield YMCA it was a real struggle to find a place to hold meetings. However, according to the memories of some of the veteran members coupled with a few hazy records, it is thought that the YMCA meetings were first held in the building at 36 North Main Street where the Mansfield Building and Loan Company was located.
In 1892, the association bought the property it occupied at 45 Park Avenue West for $8,500. The deed to the property dates back as far as 1812 when the land was bought from the U.S. Government by James Hedges, one of Mansfield's' founders. When the YMCA acquired the property, there was a residential building on the lot. That building was remodeled and remained in operation until 1954 when on February 15th an old natural gas line erupted in the street in front of the building, causing an explosion. Though no one was injured, the accident damaged a major portion of the front of the building, rendering it uninhabitable. Classes were moved to a warehouse building on 6th street owned by James Hoffman, president of Mansfield Tire and Rubber Company. Other programs were transferred to the city schools.
The second permanent structure for the YMCA was at 455 Park Avenue West. Groundbreaking for this structure-designed to be shared by both the YMCA and YWCA-took place on April 28, 1954 and opened for activities on May 13, 1956.
The YWCA launched its programs in Mansfield in 1920 with the first meetings held in a small room in the Mansfield Public Library. Later that same year, C. E. Seymour offered the use of a small bungalow on West 3rd Street, rent-free for the association's first year of operation. In 1921, the YWCA moved to larger quarters over Colby's Garage where they were able to begin gymnasium work and form some clubs with regular meeting dates. The next move happened in 1922 and was to the King Building on Park Avenue West and Walnut Street. More separate rooms as well as a large space to serve as a gymnasium permitted expansion of the craft programs along with the physical education department.
The YWCA occupied the third floor of the building until 1936 when the organization purchased a large house on S. Mulberry Street in which it operated until April 10, 1956.
As mentioned earlier, the YMCA and the YWCA shared the building at 455 Park Avenue West from May 13, 1956 until the merger of the two organizations that took place on February 4, 1997.
Under the volunteer leadership of Bob Fox, the YMCA and YWCA merged under an amended and restated Articles of Incorporation filed with the State of Ohio. There were a number of situations that Fox and his committee needed to consider as they contemplated bringing these two organizations together.
First, both organizations were struggling financially, and it was thought that there had to be considerable cost savings in eliminating the duplication of a number of services and some administrative and support personnel.
Second, the YMCA had recognized for some years that its mission could be more effectively advanced if the physical facilities were either renovated or a new building was provided. The latter option would make possible an expansion of the services to the community while at the same time curbing the increased cost of operating an aging building.
A capital campaign was begun in 1998 to raise funds for a new building. New construction began in 1999. The new YMCA at 750 Scholl Road opened its doors at 5 a.m. on December 18, 2000.
Indeed, it is hard to imagine how many thousands of men, women and children passed through the doors of the YMCA over the years, but thanks to the support of the community, it has continued to provide services to citizens from every walk of life, of every social, economic and ethnic background.
Today's YMCA leaders are confronted with a challenge not unlike those met and overcome by their predecessors. They will not only need to meet current and future demands for additional services in a state-of-the-art building designed for a diverse era, but will also continue to function and grow in membership and services with the sole purpose of building strong kids, strong families and strong communities through caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
