View XML QR Code

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of Portland, Oregon, Archives, 1868-2005

Overview of the Collection

Creator
YMCA (Portland, Or.)
Title
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of Portland, Oregon, Archives
Dates
1868-2005 (inclusive)
Quantity
52 linear feet, (66 boxes)
Collection Number
OLPb048YMC
Summary
This collection is the corporate archives for the YMCA of Portland, Oregon, founded in 1868. The collection includes photographs, media clippings, publications, and board minutes.
Repository
Lewis & Clark College, Special Collections and Archives

Aubrey R. Watzek Library
615 S. Palatine Hill Rd.
Portland, OR
97219
Telephone: 5037687758
Fax: 5037687282
archives@lclark.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection has no restrictions and is open for research.

Languages
English
Return to Top

Historical Note

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in England in 1844 to provide a safe place for young men to learn and socialize. The association quickly spread to the United States. In March, 1868, Edward Quackenbush and William Wadhams held the first meeting of the Portland YMCA in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church. Quackenbush, along with E.J. Northrup, William Lair Hill, James Steel, and Dr. Rodney Glisan, all prominent Portland men, wrote up a constitution for the YMCA. By 1871, women were allowed to become members.

Early social and cultural activities at the YMCA included educational classes, a variety of lectures, mission meetings, musical entertainment, and theatrical events. The Portland YMCA continued to grow and programs soon extended to sports and aquatics as health and physical education gained popularity. Technical classes in automotives, plumbing, electrical crafts, and horticulture were also held at the Portland YMCA beginning in the early 1900’s. By 1920, specific YMCA educational classes served to become a technical school called the Oregon Institute of Technology.

Today, the Portland area YMCA is known as the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette. It continues to be a vital community organization in which people of all ages can be physically and socially active within a safe and nonthreatening environment.

Return to Top

Content Description

This collection includes correspondence, photographs, business records, newspaper clippings, video recordings, and publications.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish, exhibit, broadcast, or quote from materials in the Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections requires written permission of the Head of Archives & Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

The Archives of the YMCA of Portland, Ore. (OLPb048YMC), Lewis & Clark College Aubrey Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections, Portland, Oregon.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in a single series and boxed by material type and subject.

Location of Collection

Special Collections

Acquisition Information

Donated to Lewis & Clark College by the YMCA of Portland, Oregon in 2010.

Processing Note

Processed in 2010 and 2011.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Personal Names

Corporate Names

Geographical Names

Heidi Toepfer
2011

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West