Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Young Men's Christian Association, University Branch records, 1892-1968
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Young Men's Christian Association (Seattle, Wash.). University Branch
- Title
- Young Men's Christian Association, University Branch records
- Dates
- 1892-1968 (inclusive)18921968
- Quantity
- 5.38 cubic feet (8 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
- Collection Number
- 2126 (Accession No. 2126-003)
- Summary
- Records of the YMCA (Seattle, Wash.) University Branch, documenting its programs, activism, buildings, and members.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Open to all users.
- Additional Reference Guides
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The University Branch of the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) was founded September 8, 1888, when the University of Washington campus was located in downtown Seattle. It was the first student organization at the university, and it functioned primarily as a religious organization. The YMCA was reorganized several times in its early years, but there is little documentation from that period. By 1900 the University Branch had more steady contact with the national organization and began to integrate itself into the campus community.
In 1910 the YMCA moved into the Arctic Brotherhood building, a log structure on the present campus. In the teens the Y began to grow substantially, from 260 members in 1912 to 710 in 1916. Members were very active in local issues, including labor, immigrant education, grammar school athletics, and the Big Brothers organization. General Secretary Charles L. Maxfield was the first professional to hold the position of secretary in the University Branch of the YMCA. He was instrumental in the campaign to build Eagleson Hall.
The YMCA had been a strong presence on campus, but with a change in university policies during the 1920s concerning the separation of church and state, it became necessary for the YMCA to find a new home. A suitable site was found, and members undertook an agressive fundraising drive. After many pleas for contributions to the building fund, Maxfield secured a $10,000 grant from John D. Rockerfeller. In March 1923, Eagleson Hall was dedicated, completed at a cost of $100,000, including furnishings. It remained the home of the YMCA until it was sold to the university in 1963.
Throughout the 1930s the YMCA was considered a radical organization due to its involvement in issues concerning global peace and free speech. It was a vital part of the lives not only of many students but also of servicemen who received training on campus during World War II. During the war, the YMCA was active in opposing the incarceration of Japanese Americans. Criticisms of the YMCA's liberal actions were heard again in 1962, when the organization defended its decision to rent a room to students who had invited communist leader Gus Hall to speak. The university had rejected requests to let Hall speak on campus, and the YMCA came under the scrutiny of the national organization for its decision.
In 1940 the YWCA University Branch moved into Eagleson Hall. Attempts to connect the two groups in the 1920s had failed, as the YMCA perceived the YWCA as too feminist for a successful partnership. During the time that the YMCA and YWCA were housed together, however, they worked closely. Both organizations left Eagleson Hall in 1963.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The records contain minutes, correspondence, handbooks, newsletters, reports, programs, subject series, ephemera, and financial records from 1892 to 1968. The bulk of the records are from the 1920s through the 1940s. Among the earlier items are student handbooks that were instrumental in publicizing the organization to University of Washington students. Records include extensive minutes that document board of trustees and other meetings. The minutes were bound together and have not been separated. The Subject Series contains information on specific topics and activities of interest to the organization, such as campus buildings, Gus Hall's speaking engagement, and Japanese student civil rights.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from this collection in digital format.
Restrictions on Use
The creators' literary rights have not been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries. Contact the Special Collections division, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Gift of Dorothy Jenkins, May 16, 1973. Imprints and scrapbooks were relocated from the University Archives in May 1982.
Processing Note
Processed by Lilium Rajan in 2004.
This accession is a merger of previous accessions: 2126-1, 2126-2, and 3300-82-18.
103 black-and-white photographic prints, 1 color photographic print, 1 black-and-white postcard, and 24 negatives depicting past officers and members, conferences, banquets, social events, and buildings that housed the YMCA organization at the University of Washington were relocated to Photo Accession no. 2004-048 in the division on March 26, 2004.
Related Materials
An undated memoir concerning the YMCA and its relationship to the University of Washington by Herbert L. Seamans is included in Seamans's papers, Accession no. 1876-001, in the division.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Administrative RecordsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1-2 | Historical Features |
1928-1968, undated |
1/3 | Organizational Features |
undated |
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1/4 | Council of North American Student Movements, Students'
Friendship War Fund (Gale Seaman) |
1917 |
1/5 | Miscellaneous, A-Z |
1915-1946 |
Minutes |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1/6-2/4 | Cabinet |
1912-1952 |
2/5-12 | Board of Trustees |
1953-1963 |
Reports |
||
Box/Folder | ||
2/13 | Annual Reports |
1923-1936 |
box:oversize | ||
4 | Certification |
1909-1930 |
Box/Folder | ||
2/14 | Missionary Team |
1918 |
2/15-19 | Miscellaneous |
1916-1961 |
box:oversize | ||
Misc. Oversize Box 7 | Statistical Charts |
1952 |
Box/Folder | ||
2/20 | Policies |
1934-1958 |
Newsletters |
||
Box/Folder | ||
2/21-22 | YMCA |
1930-1964 |
2/23 | YMCA Alumni |
1935-1939 |
2/24 | Other Organizations |
1940-1964 |
Box/Folder | ||
2/25-27 | Financial Records |
1914-1945 |
2/28 | Speeches and Writings |
undated |
Programs |
||
Box/Folder | ||
2/29-32 | International Banquet |
1920-1966 |
2/33 | Other |
1900-1943 |
Box/Folder | ||
2/34 | Photograph (Duplicate) |
|
2/35 | Conferences and Conventions |
1923 |
Subject Series
Major topics covered in the Subject Series are the building of
Eagleson Hall, the rental of Y facilities for a speaking engagement of
communist leader Gus Hall, and the building and dedication of the Thompson
Memorial Library. Records pertaining to Eagleson Hall include donation appeals
written to John D. Rockerfeller and the responses of his secretary, Mr. W.S.
Richardson.
During the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese
Americans from the West Coast in World War II, the YWCA actively supported
Japanese students and tried to protect the civil rights of other Japanese
members of the Seattle community. Of particular interest are letters written by
YMCA member Tosh Fukushima from an internment camp.
|
||
Eagleson Hall |
||
General Correspondence |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3/1 | Rockerfeller, John D. |
1920-1923 |
3/2 | Suzzallo, Henry |
1921-1923 |
3/3 | Miscellaneous |
1920-1930 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/4 | Minutes |
ca. 1920-1930 |
3/5 | Reports |
ca. 1920-1930 |
Lists |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3/6 | Committee Members |
undated |
3/7 | Subscriptions |
1924-1925 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/8 | Speeches and Writings |
undated |
3/9 | Legal Documents |
1921-1926 |
3/10 | Booklets |
undated |
3/11 | Ephemera |
1892-1921 |
3/12 | Clippings |
1923 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/13-14 | Fiftieth Anniversary |
1938 |
Gus Hall Rental |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3/15 | Interorganizational Correspondence -- National
Student Council of YMCAs |
1962 |
3/16 | General Correspondence |
1962-1963 |
3/17 | Statements and Policies |
1962 |
3/18 | Notes |
undated |
3/19 | Applications |
1962 |
3/20 | News Releases |
1962 |
3/21 | Clippings |
1962 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/22-24 | International Relations |
1936-1940 |
Japanese Student Relocation |
||
Incoming Letters |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3/25 | Fukushima, Tosh |
1943 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/26 | General Correspondence |
1942-1943 |
3/27 | Minutes |
1942-1944 |
3/28 | Reports |
1942-1944 |
3/29 | Newsletters |
1943-1944 |
3/30 | Conferences and Conventions |
1937 |
3/31 | Surveys |
1942 |
3/32 | Speeches and Writings |
1942-1943, undated |
3/33 | Directory |
1943 |
3/34 | Ephemera |
undated |
3/35 | Clippings |
1942-1943 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/36 | Religion and the State University |
1947-1960 |
3/37 | Swygaard Fund |
1935-1936 |
3/38-40 | Thompson Memorial Library |
1936 |
3/41 | Wing Luke Memorial |
1966 |
Lists |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3/42 | Alumni |
1927-1942, undated |
3/43 | Board of Trustees |
1925-1965, undated |
3/44 | Cabinet Members |
1923-1968, undated |
3/45 | Committee Members |
1928-1936, undated |
3/46 | Mothers' Tea |
1934 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/47 | Ephemera |
1931-1952 |
Handbooks |
||
Box | ||
5-6 | Student Handbooks |
1895-1933 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/48 |
Washington Men
|
1931-1933 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/49 | Loan Documents |
1914 |
3/50 | Clippings |
1914-1965 |
Scrapbooks |
||
box:oversize | ||
4 | Scrapbook |
1903-1939 |
7 | Scrapbook |
1924-1932, 1952-1953 |
8 | Scrapbook |
1929-1938 |
Foundation for International Understanding Through Students, 1948Return to Top
Container(s): Box-folder 3/51
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Christian college students--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
- Christian college students--Washington (State)--Seattle--Political activity
- Christian college students--Washington (State)--Seattle--Societies, etc
- College buildings--Washington (State)
- Freedom of speech--Washington (State)--Seattle
- Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
- Japanese Americans--Washington (State)--Seattle--Civil rights
- Male college students--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
- Male college students--Washington (State)--Seattle--Political activity
- Male college students--Washington (State)--Seattle--Societies, etc
Corporate Names
- Eagleson Hall (Seattle, Wash.)
- University of Washington--Societies, etc
- Young Men's Christian Association (Seattle, Wash.). University Branch--Archives
Geographical Names
- Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government
Form or Genre Terms
- Scrapbooks
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)