Ymca of Greater Cleveland history

Ingham's business had sustained a severe and unexpected loss in 1889 from which neither it nor he fully recovered, and, when he died, Ingham left his widow in a precarious financial condition.

As the estate proceedings drew to a close, she elected to have the house sold and, in the Fall of 1900, she moved out, taking up residence on the campus of Oberlin College.

On November 5, 1901, the new West Side YMCA, which was initially called the West Side Boys Club, opened.

The most memorable of the latter were his annual "gypsy trips," which began in 1902.

Crackel also headed the first Boy Scout troop in Cleveland, which was formed at the West Side YMCA in 1910.

The new West Side YMCA was dedicated by Cleveland Mayor Newton D. Baker on March 21, 1912.

As early as 1921, the YMCA secured sites within the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District for use as daytime and overnight retreats.

Dedicated in August of 1939, the ornate American Legion camp was envisioned as vacation grounds for the city’s youth.

Change of a different type came to the West Side YMCA in 1953, when it was hit by the tornado that destroyed many buildings on the west side of Cleveland.

The River Road Camp became coed in 1957, mirroring a trend in Cuyahoga County of sharing facilities with the Young Women’s Christian Association to meet public demand and lower operating costs.

The River Road Camp was revamped in 1966 as an answer to the public’s growing interest in health and fitness.

The fitness and sports-themed camping experience proved popular, and continued to be a mainstay at the River Road Camp until its closing in 1979.