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.
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.
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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.
Gift of Dorothy Jenkins, May 16, 1973. Imprints and scrapbooks were relocated from the University Archives in May 1982.
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.
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.
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.