1866
The YMCA offices are first located in the Center Block
building at Intersection of Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues (assembly and meeting
rooms).
1877
1888
Market Hall building on Bridge Square; Hennepin Avenue and N.
First Street (auditorium and club rooms).
1883
Syndicate Block building on Nicollet Avenue between 5th and
6th Streets (meeting rooms). Market Hall lease continues to 1888 -- then
referred to as "Bridge Square Branch".
1883
Bridge Square branch established, but religious work continued
in the Market Hall Building.
1886
Eastside branch is established in a rented room in Chute
Block; corner of Central and University Avenues (Bible classes and reading).
Branch suspended in 1887.
1887
Twenty-Sixth Street Branch is established at the corner of
26th Street and Nicollet Avenue (suite of rooms for meetings and reading).
Branch discontinues when new Central Building was occupied.
1887
University YMCA is organized as an independent Association.
Offices located in a house on 13th Avenue S.E.
1889
Norwegian branch is organized. Location unknown. Operates for
one year.
1892
Central branch is established at 10th Street and Mary Place
(now LaSalle Avenue). Full facility and residence.
1912
Southeast branch is established in Tuttle School building,
corner of 14th Avenue and Talmadge Street S.E.
1915
Southtown branch is organized. Offices at 27th Avenue and E.
Lake Street. Programs prior to 1915 were organized from the Central branch.
1917
University of Minnesota YMCA joins the Minneapolis YMCA
organization.
1919
Central/Downtown branch moves to a new building at 9th and
Mary Place (now LaSalle Avenue). Full facility and residence.
1919
Northeast branch is organized. Offices located in the Knapp
Building, 2337 Central Avenue N.E.
1919
Northside branch is organized. Offices at 1103 - 20th Avenue
N.
1919
West Lake branch is organized. Offices located in the Carville
Building at 26 ½ W. Lake Street. First programs for the district were organized
from the Central Branch beginning in 1915.
1923
University branch moves to the New Student Program building.
1425 University Avenue S.E.
1937
South Central branch is established. Offices at 26 ½ W. Lake
Street.
1937
Roosevelt branch is organized. Offices at 2723 E. 38th Street.
1937
Washburn branch is organized. Offices at 4804 Nicollet Avenue
S.
1939
Northside branch is established. Community building opens at
3300 Penn Avenue N.
1950
Roosevelt branch community building opens at 4100 - 28th
Avenue S.
1951
Southtown branch community building opens at 1845 E. Lake
Street.
1951
Washburn branch community building opens at 4816 Nicollet
Avenue S.
1952
Northeast branch community building opens at 2304 Jackson
Street N.E.
1954
South Central branch changes name to West Central branch.
1957
Washburn branch changes name to Washburn-Richfield branch.
1958
Minnetonka branch is organized. Offices located at 401 E. Lake
Street, Wayzata.
1960
Northeast and Southeast branches merge to become Eastside
branch.
1960
West Central branch community building opens at 3335 Blaisdell
Avenue S.
1963
Washburn-Richfield branch changes name to
Washburn-Richfield-Bloomington branch.
1964
Roosevelt and Southtown branches merge to become Hiawatha
branch.
1969
Minnesota Valley branch is established. Offices located at
9050 Lyndale Avenue S. in Bloomington.
1969
West Lake and Minnetonka branches are reorganized to become
West Suburban Family branch. Offices located at 1400 Fairfield Road,
Minnetonka.
1969
Washburn-Richfield-Bloomington branch changes name to
Southdale branch.
1970
Urban department and West Central branch combine to become
Urban/West Central branch.
1973
Northside branch becomes Northwest branch. Suburban
office/community program located at 4205 Winnetka Avenue N. in New
Hope.
1974
North Community branch is established. Full facility
1975
Southdale branch full facility building opens at 7355 York
Avenue S. in Edina.
1977
Northwest branch full facility building opens at 7601 42nd
Avenue N. in New Hope.
1980
Eastside branch name changes to Northeast branch.
1980
West Suburban branch full facility building opens at 12301
Ridgedale Drive in Minnetonka.
1983
West Suburban branch name changes to Ridgedale branch.
1984
Urban/West Central branch name changes to Blaisdell branch.
1990
Downtown branch full facility building opens at 30 S. Ninth
Street in downtown Minneapolis.
1995
Northeast branch name changes to Emma B. Howe Northeast Family
YMCA. New community building opens on existing site at 2304 Jackson Street N.E.
1995
Blaisdell branch adds extensive addition to make a full
facility building at present site, 3335 Blaisdell Avenue S.
1996
Emma B. Howe Family Branch Northtown full facility building
opens at 8950 Springbrook Drive N. W., Coon Rapids.
1997
Minnesota Valley branch full facility building opens at
Portland Avenue S., Burnsville.
2000
University branch moves to a new building at 1801 University
Avenue S.E.
2005
Andover YMCA Community Center full facility building opens at
15220 Hanson Boulevard, Andover.
2008
Elk River branch full facility building opens at 13337
Business Center Drive NW, Elk River.
(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).
From the guide to the Branch records, 1907-2011, (bulk 1970-1999), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])
1885
The Minneapolis YMCA recognizes that boys and young men need
the same opportunities for mental, physical and spiritual and development
currently offered to the men of the Minneapolis community, with programs
specifically designed for that age group. The first boys-specific meetings are
Friday night prayer group. An official Boys Branch/Junior Department for Boys
is established later the same year, with a minimum age of 12.
1900
The first Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp is held on the shores of
Lake Minnetonka, with 47 boys attending.
1901
Working Boys Night School is established for the boys of
families who needed them to work rather than go to school during the day. The
program expands to over 100 boys, until 1908 when the public school system
began offering night classes.
1902
W. G. Cartlich is hired as the first full-time Boys' Work
Director for the YMCA Minneapolis.
1903
The first official building devoted to the Boys Division is
established, directly adjacent to the Central Branch building, opens.
1908
The first Minneapolis YMCA owned resident camp, Icaghowan
opens.
1909
Hi-Y Clubs are organized in the fall. Short for "High School
Y," Hi-Y clubs are designed to extend high standard of Christian living among
the students of each of the five Minneapolis high schools. Participation is
limited to boys selected for their leadership in academics, athletics, social
life and other student activities.
1938
John Werness, a member of the Minneapolis' first Y Men's Club,
establishes the Christmas Tree program. Selling Christmas trees during the
holiday season provides money for camp scholarships for disadvantaged youth who
would otherwise be unable to attend summer camp. Despite initial skepticism,
this program is a huge success.
1946
YMCA Youth in Government program is established. The original
purpose of the program is to prepare young men for political leadership by
providing "guidance, training, and experience in theory and practice of
determining public policy."
1947
Y-Indian Guides program is established. Designed for
grade-school age boys, this program is created to foster relationships between
fathers and sons by providing joint activities focused on learning and engaging
with Native American cultures.
1960
1969
Girls are integrated into the Minneapolis YMCA Youth programs.
1968
Urban Department is formed. The program is designed to provide
inner city youth with a variety of positive activities, experiences, and
role-models. Junior Sports and the Summer Olympics programs are offshoots of
this group.
1988
Model United Nations program begins. A sister program to the
Minnesota Youth in Government, the Model UN focuses on conflict resolution, art
of negotiation, diplomacy, and a respect for diversity.
(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).
From the guide to the Boys' work and youth services records, 1914-1995, (bulk 1940-1969), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])
1885
In 1885, Sumner F. Dudley, a YMCA secretary from Newburgh,
New York, takes seven boys to nearby Camp Baldhead on Orange Lake for eight
days. Within a few years, the camp becomes known as Camp Dudley, and is the
oldest organized camp with a continuous history in the United States. From this
modest beginning, the YMCA camp movement grows and expands all across the
United States.
1899
The first attempt of a Minneapolis YMCA boys camp is held on
the Baptist Assembly grounds in Mound, Minnesota. In the following years, it is
held at the Muskey Farm, a part of the Longyear estate 1930-1939.
1900
The first Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp is held on the shores of
Lake Minnetonka, with 47 boys attending. The following year, 1901, the number
increases to 85 campers.
1902
The Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp moves to Lake Francis,
Elysian, Minnesota, but the distance discourages campers.
1903
1905
The venue changes once again, this time to Clear Lake,
Minnesota. It is becoming very clear to the organization at this time that
without a permanent camp site and proper equipment, it will be impossible to
develop a camping program in any substantial way.
1906
1907
The YMCA leases a summer club house along the southern shore
of Lake Calhoun in order to establish a young men's residential camp; but has
to be abandoned after the first year due to the encroaching urban sprawl.
1907
The first Minneapolis YMCA-owned resident camp, Icaghowan,
opens with five acres on Green Lake near Chisago City, Minnesota.
1915
1916
In the summer seasons at Camp Icaghowan, four camps of two
weeks each are conducted with a total attendance of 103 boys.
1919
In the summer season, a group of 380 working boys camp in a
rented shack on Cedar Lake.
1919
1923
A group of young men camp at Bush Lake in 1919 and 1920, but
by 1921 the rented site is taken over by the General Offices from the Young
Men's Division, and run on a city-wide basis serving 311 boys from various
groups, including the Americanization group, dormitory boys, church groups, and
working boys.
1922
Camp Menogyn, Chippewa for "to grow everywhere", is added to
the YMCA Minneapolis camping program. Wilder than Camp Icaghowan, this camp is
located 35 miles north of Grand Marais, Minnesota. It is designed for use in
August only as a long-term camp with a city-wide enrollment.
1924
An attempt to purchase 10 acres of the E.J. Fairfield property
on Lake Minnetonka is made, but the plan is quickly abandoned when adjoining
property owners (several of whom are supporters and contributors to the
Minneapolis YMCA) object to having a camp on that site. For the summer, an
alternative site on Lake Minnetonka is lent to the Young Men's Division by
former Minneapolis Mayor J. E. Meyers – Enchanted Island.
1925
1926
Camp Menogyn is closed for summer seasons in 1925 and 1926 due
to lack of enrollment.
1927
Camp Warren is purchased through the generous Dayton
Endowment, two hundred acres of virgin timberland near Evelyth, Minnesota, near
Half Moon and Pleasant Lakes. The property is purchased from a Mrs. O.B. Warren
and the camp is named on behalf of her husband. Six cabins are initially built
on the property to provide overflow from Camp Icaghowan. Camp Warren fills to
capacity from the very first year.
1929
Camp Warren is officially dedicated on July 8, 1929.
1929
Camp Ihduhapi, (EE-doo-hop-ee), of Lakota origin for
"Independence," is established on land purchased from Mrs. Annie Forbes.
Totally 31.18 acres, the heavily wooded site located on Lake Independence has a
600-foot bathing beach.
1929
Camp Menogyn is open for the entire summer. Due to the high
enrollment organized by districts, the time-allotment each group spends here
has to be shortened. By 1934, Camp Menogyn is a "post graduate camp," the only
camp in the state of Minnesota to offer a wilderness experience to challenge
older boys and young men.
1930
Camp Ihduhapi opens on July 31, 1930, and becomes the first
fully winterized YMCA Minneapolis camp, hosting a main lodge, 14 sleeping
cabins, dining hall, handicraft cabin, in addition to other buildings. Located
25 miles west of Minneapolis, the camp eventually expands to over 172 acres by
1961.
1934
Camp Menogyn moves to a new site in Cook County on the north
shore of West Bearskin Lake on 35 acres. Containing a bluff overlooking three
pine-covered islands, the site is more level and includes two calm bays. The
site is thought to have the necessary facilities for training campers before
taking them out on wilderness canoe trips. This new site is purchased through a
1933 camping operations budget surplus and a generous donation from Russell H.
Bennett.
1936
Due to the interest of boys younger than 10 (the age limit set
at Camp Warren upon opening), in the summer of 1936 a Cub Camp opens, and eight
log cabins are built to scale for the purpose.
1948
Camp Menogyn is enlarged and made more complete during the
1948 camping season.
1949
After serving youth on Green Lake for 42 years, in 1949 Camp
Icaghowan moves to a new site on Lake Wappogassett near Amery, Wisconsin.
1950
The first day camp property – Green Triangle – is established
on a few acres of Camp Committee member Don Willis' farm, near Orono,
Minnesota. It becomes the first day camp recognized by the American Camping
Association.
1954
Camp Manitou, another day camp, is established, operating out
of the North Side branch.
1955
Camp Kici Yapi, day camp, is established, operating out of the
Northeast Y branch, and by 1969 serves four branches, including Hiawatha,
Minnesota Valley, West Central, and Southdale.
1956
A day camp program is formed at the Kelley Farm by Roosevelt
branch.
1958
Camp Christmas Tree on Dutch Lake is donated by an anonymous
donor, and dedicated in the summer of 1958.
1958
The day camp program composed of 1, 727 campers through the
Minneapolis YMCA in the 958 season, demonstrating phenomenal growth.
1959
The 1959 resident camp breakdown of 237,000 total
participants included 65% boys, 17% girls, 11% adult men and women, and 5% YMCA
leaders and staff.
1963
Camp Monticello, with 1,000 acres on Mud, Long, First, and
Bertram Lakes is sold to the Minneapolis YMCA by the Lehigh-Portland Cement
Company. This camp is used as the location for the Summer Work Training program
from 1964-1967.
1963
Camp Kabetogama is formed, with 90 acres of wilderness land 25
miles southeast of International Falls, Minnesota, donated by Mr. and Mrs.
Enoch Sward.
1968
The first co-oed camping group is taken to Camp Menogyn by
Gary Lewis, executive of several branches during 1960-1979.
1970
1979
Girls are integrated into the Minneapolis YMCA Camp programs,
"in order to meet the growing need for service to the total family". All camps
except Kici Yapi, Ihduhapi, and Warren are now open to girls. Over the decade,
the last remaining camps are also integrated.
1984
A single parent family camp is established at YMCA Camp
Ihduhapi.
1985
The YMCA World Camp program celebrates 100 years, with 50 US
campers and 50 others from around the world. Before departing to Camp Northland
near Ely, Minnesota, the campers spend the day at Camp Warren.
2002
The Camp Streefland horse program, the Streefland Colts, is
transitioned to Camp Kici Yapi.
2003
On December 22, 2003, a major fire at Camp Streefland destroys
the barn, which serves as the central gathering place and program center.
Between 2004-2007, renovations are completed at Camp Streefland, including a
new program center with infirmary and office, sewer and water updates, and
general camp ground upkeep.
2010
As of summer 2010, in addition to the long-standing
residential camps, the Minneapolis YMCA also operates six regional day camps,
including: Camp Kici Yapi, Camp Christmas Tree, Camp Streefland, Camp Guy
Robinson, Camp Manitou, and Camp Ihduhapi.
(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).
From the guide to the Camping services records, 1914-2008, (bulk 1955-1975), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])
1866
The YMCA Minneapolis is organized by Russell Conwell; a young
lawyer recently arrived to the Minneapolis area. Conwell, with a few other
local businessmen, begin a noon-day prayer meeting in his office. The first
YMCA offices are located in the Center Block building at Intersection of
Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues (assembly and meeting rooms).
1877
The first Articles of Incorporation are adopted on June 11,
1877. The organization's legal name is "Young Men's Christian Association of
Minneapolis."
1883
An amendment to the first Articles of Incorporation is
recorded in the office of the Registrar of Deeds of Hennepin County, on July 9,
1883. The organization's legal name is changed to "The Young Men's Christian
Association of the City of Minneapolis."
1885
The first boys-specific meetings begin as a Friday night
prayer group. An official Boys Branch/Junior Department for Boys is established
later the same year, with a minimum age of 12.
1891
As the original paperwork was not filed properly with the
state, on July 15, 1891 the organization's paperwork is re-filed under the new
act passed through the state legislature recognizing defectively organized
existing corporations, such as the YMCA of Minneapolis.
1892
The importance of having a physical space for the YMCA to
conduct services and programs is ever a concern. Branches are formed based on
the individual needs of each community, but the first building built and owned
by the organization is on the corner of Tenth Street and Mary Place, is
purchased in 1887 and finally complete in 1892.
1900
The first Minneapolis YMCA Boys Camp is held on the shores of
Lake Minnetonka, with 47 boys attending.
1908
The first Minneapolis YMCA-owned resident camp, Icaghowan,
opens with five acres on Green Lake near Chisago City, Minnesota.
1909
Hi-Y Clubs are organized in the fall. Short for "High School
Y," Hi-Y clubs are designed to extend high standard of Christian living among
the students of each of the five Minneapolis high schools. Participation is
limited to boys selected for their leadership in academics, athletics, social
life and other student activities.
1914
1918
World War I affects the YMCA both on the national and local
level. In Minneapolis, more than 185 men and women are recruited for active War
service of the Y. Creation of programs during this time are designed to aid in
the war effort, including the increase of civilian food supplies and the
University of Minnesota YMCA student army program.
1917
The University of Minnesota YMCA, established in 1887 as a
separate entity, joins the Minneapolis YMCA organization, serving as one of
several branches serving the Minneapolis community.
1919
The main branch of the Minneapolis YMCA, Central/Downtown,
moves to a new building at 9th and Mary Place (now LaSalle Avenue). Full
facility and residence.
1922
Camp Menogyn, Chippewa for "to grow everywhere", is added to
the YMCA Minneapolis camping program. Wilder than Camp Icaghowan, this camp is
located 35 miles north of Grand Marais, Minnesota.
1927
Camp Warren is purchased - two hundred acres of virgin
timberland near Evelyth, Minnesota, near Half Moon and Pleasant Lakes.
1929
Camp Ihduhapi is established. Totally 31.18 acres, the heavily
wooded site located on Lake Independence has a 600-foot bathing beach.
1936
A book written by YMCA insiders S. Wirt Wiley and Florence
Lehmann, entitled "Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's
Christian Association: 1866-1936" is published, outlining the history of the
organization up to 1936.
1938
In 1938, Minneapolis became the first Association to
establish the Christmas Tree Sales program – selling Christmas trees to support
YMCA camp opportunities for disadvantaged children. The program is created by
John Werness, a member of the first Y-Men's Club here in Minneapolis. The
program spreads across the YMCA footprint, raising more than $20 million
worldwide by 1995.
1946
YMCA Youth in Government program is established in Minnesota,
based on the New York YMCA program. The original purpose of the program is to
prepare young men for political leadership by providing "guidance, training,
and experience in theory and practice of determining public policy."
1947
Indian Guide program is established in the Twin Cities.
Designed for grade-school age boys, this program is created to foster
relationships between fathers and sons by providing joint activities focused on
learning and engaging with Native American cultures.
1950
The first day camp property – Green Triangle – is established
on a few acres of Camp Committee member Don Willis' farm, near Orono,
Minnesota. It becomes the first day camp recognized by the American Camp(ing)
Association, a community of camp professionals who ensure the quality of camp
programs.
1960
1969
Girls are integrated into the Minneapolis YMCA Youth programs.
1964
The YMCA Minneapolis executes a re-organization, recognizing
"a growing and expanding YMCA serving in a progressive metropolitan community
must be forward thinking and flexible enough to meet the challenges of today as
well as those of tomorrow..." Amendments to the Association's By-Laws and
Articles of Incorporation are applied. One of the major changes involves
another name change, this time to "Young Men's Christian Association of
Metropolitan Minneapolis." Major changes include: voting rights were extended
to additional members; the creation of a governing body of 600 members;
creation of a Governor's Council, which includes "key" men within the community
to represent the Minneapolis community at large; closer coordination of the
organization and the branch locations; Branch Board of Management Chairmen
become voting members on the General Board' and leadership responsibilities of
the Association's chief lay officer is divided between a "President of the
Association" and a "Chairman of the General Board."
1966
The organization celebrates 100 years serving the Minneapolis
community.
1968
Urban Department is formed. The program is designed to provide
inner city youth with a variety of positive activities, experiences, and
role-models. Junior Sports and the Summer Olympics programs are offshoots of
this group.
1988
Model United Nations program begins. A sister program to the
Minnesota Youth in Government, the Model UN focuses on conflict resolution, art
of negotiation, diplomacy, and a respect for diversity.
1990
The Downtown branch full facility building opens at 30 S.
Ninth Street in downtown Minneapolis.
2006
To celebrate 140 years of service to the Minneapolis
community, a book entitled "Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140
Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA" is published. Written by Paul
Hillmer, the book outlines the history of the Minneapolis YMCA, focusing on the
Boys' work and youth services.
2012
The YMCA Minneapolis and YMCA St. Paul merge on January 1,
2012, becoming the fifth largest YMCAs in the nation. The YMCA of Greater Twin
Cities operates 22 full-facility YMCAs, six community program sites, seven
overnight camps, 10 day camps and more than 90 child-care, preschool and
school-age care locations across 13 counties stretching into Western Wisconsin.
(Information taken from Breaking New Ground, Building Strong Lives: 140 Years of Youth Work with the Minneapolis YMCA by Paul Hillmer, 2006; from Builders of Men: A History of the Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association: 1866-1936 by S. Wirt Wiley and Florence Lehmann; and from the collection).
From the guide to the General administrative records, 1886-2006, (bulk 1970-1999), (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])
