The Young Women's Christian Association of The Hartford Region Inc history

The YWCA began having national meetings in 1871, of what was then called its International Board.

Beginning in 1873, YWCA chapters also began appearing on college campuses.

Educational courses had been offered at the Hartford YMCA as early as 1879.

WEST HARTFORD YMCA has some records of programs dating back to 1900.

Charles A. Jewell, for whom the camp is named, and other YMCA supporters, the camp moved in 1902 to the shores of Lake Swanzey, New Hampshire.

The Buffalo, New York YWCA residence had a swimming pool as early as 1905, when this was still a rarity.

The two groups voted to combine at a meeting in December 1906, forming an umbrella group called the Young Women's Christian Association of the United States of America.

The group incorporated in New York in 1907.

In 1913 the YWCA debuted a Commission on Social Morality, and the group taught sex education, usually under the names "social education" or "social morality." The YWCA dealt with a vulnerable population of women just leaving their families to live on their own.

The Y became part of the County YMCA when that entity was formalized in 1918.

The County Y established YMCA Camp Woodstock in 1922.

Indian Valley traces its modern roots back to the organization of the Tolland County YMCA in October 1925 in Rockville.

EAST HARTFORD YMCA programs began on a sporadic basis as far back as 1926.

In 1930, at the beginning of the Great Depression, the YWCA met in Detroit.

At the 1932 meeting, the YWCA endorsed national compulsory unemployment insurance.

Hi-Y clubs were the first formal program in 1935.

The camp received heavy damage during a hurricane in 1938, but was rebuilt.

The Industrial Management Club was established in 1939 and gave mid-level and line managers of the many manufacturing firms in Hartford a place for continuing education and socialization.

In 1942, during World War II, the YWCA began serving the Japanese-Americans who were being held in internment camps as enemy aliens.

The first branch office was built in 1944 thanks to a donation from Miss Edith Howard.

The organization adopted a charter in 1946 committing the group to protesting racial injustice.

TRI-TOWN YMCA Branch was formed in 1949 as the South Regional YMCA. Programs began thanks to a grant from the Community Chest, now known as the United Way of the Capital Area.

By 1950, the association had branches in Wethersfield, Windsor, East Hartford and West Hartford.

In 1953, Greater Hartford YMCA General Secretary Francis E. Gray raised a then-record $565,000 for the purchase and construction of Camp Jewell and the YMCA Outdoor Center on 500 acres of land overlooking Triangle Lake in Colebrook, Connecticut.

The current building on Main Street was built in a joint capital campaign with the YWCA and was dedicated on October 26, 1958.

Girls and women were accepted as associate members by a vote of the Board of Directors in 1963.

The name was changed in 1999 to reflect its increased role in all three of its service communities: Wethersfield, Newington and Rocky Hill. It was dedicated and opened in January 1964.

In 1965 it established a national Office of Racial Justice to coordinate a national campaign against racism.

In 1966 the YWCA of Hartford County and the YWCA of Greater Hartford united to form the YWCA of the Hartford Region.

1970: Association adopts imperative to battle racism.

Today’s YMCA is made up of The Greater Hartford YMCA and The Hartford County YMCA, which merged in 1972.

The regional complex on the corner of Broad Street and Farmington Avenue was opened in 1974.

YMCA Distinguished Leadership Award in 1977.

In 1983, the YWCA opened a new facility in Phoenix, Arizona, to train women in leadership skills.

In 1987 the organization reiterated this support, and also proclaimed its opposition to laws that mandated parental consent before an abortion could be performed.

In 1991, the name of the outdoor facility was changed to Camp Chase YMCA to honor the generosity of the Chase Family.

By 1992, 85 percent of all YWCAs provided some sort of child care.

The group found a new national leader in 1994, Prema Mathai-Davis.

The first Week Without Violence was held in October 1995.

In 1999, the YWCA vowed to revitalize itself for the coming new century.

The camp celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2001 with the opening of Centennial Lodge.

In 2004 the Wheeler Regional Family YMCA underwent another major renovation and expansion.

The Wilson-Gray YMCA in the North End of Hartford opened in 2009.

HALE YMCA YOUTH FAMILY CENTER opened on February 27, 2016 and is named for Betty and Newell Hale, whose vision for a pool in the Northeast corner of Connecticut, combined with their generosity and commitment to the area, made the branch possible.