1870
The earliest known reference of a local YMCA was recorded in the Monroe Sentinel on May 18, 1870. “Y. M. C. A. Union Prayer Meetings every sabbath at 9 o’clock A. M., at the Methodist Episcopal Church.”
1887
In February, a YMCA was organized by the young men of the German Evangelical Church. The room, located on the north side of the square was dedicated on March 8th and declared to be open every evening from 7:00pm – 9:00pm “to invite all young men to come in the evenings for instructive, useful and moral pleasure … for their true and lasting benefit, spiritually and intellectually.”
1896
A district convention of the YMCA was held in Monroe from May 22-24 at which documents record “A committee was appointed to look into the advisability of forming a young men’s organization of some kind for Monroe.”
1907
A local YMCA was incorporated on April 19th. The YMCA obtained the former Presbyterian church on 16th Avenue between 8th and 9th Streets that September. It was equipped with basketball goals and backstops and the windows were all screened. The gallery was used for a reading room and the lower hall was used for a reception room. The dues were $5 a year.
1913
The YMCA developed extensive plans for remodeling their building and ultimately secure a new structure as an addition. Constructing a swimming pool as part of the basement was listed as the top priority.
1914
The paper reported a $100,000 fire on January 14th early in the morning that destroyed the building. Efforts were made to fundraise money for a new building. The YMCA in Monroe, left with only 8 members, was ultimately dissolved on September 10, 1926.
1924
The Monroe Evening Times reported “High school boys of Green county and adjacent territory will meet in Monroe Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 and 7, for a district older boys’ conference given under the auspices of the state Young Men’s Christian association.”
1934
The November 21st paper reported “New Directors Elected for County’s Y. M. C. A.” including Clarence Brunkow (Juda), Roland Etter and Marshall L. Staufson (Monroe), and Floyd Smith and E. Johnson (Brooklyn). This was said to be the sixth annual county convention. Both national and state YMCA leaders were in attendance at the convention. The following week, the paper reported “a number of Y youths from Green county expect to attend the 32nd annual state older boys’ conference to be held in Fond du Lac.” The theme of that conference was “Getting Along With Folks.”
*Special thanks to Matt Figi for his research on local YMCA history, particularly the years 1870 – 1934.
1981
The Green County Family YMCA was organized in Monroe by a group of local citizens who were concerned about the lack of year-round structured physical fitness and family programs for the people in Green County. The Articles of Incorporation were signed. During these early years, fitness classes were regularly held in any available space that could be found including an empty corner of a Swiss Colony warehouse, Turner Hall, school gymnasiums and more.
1983
The National YMCA granted the Green County Family YMCA with its charter. While Monroe, Wisconsin was significantly smaller than the average-sized city where other YMCA’s were established, a guy by the name of Roger Brown at the National office believed it could be done and embraced the vision of the original charter members. Lillian Stauffacher donated a total of 8 acres of her land for the new YMCA.
1985
The original part of the Green County Family YMCA opened in November and immediately began serving 1,500 men, women, and children through a wide range of programs. It consisted of the pool, gymnasium, locker rooms and a lobby.
1996
The Green County Family YMCA was expanded to include a Multipurpose Room and Fitness Center (existing weight room). The multipurpose room was originally intended to provide space for adult fitness classes and to function as a second gym but this space was very quickly converted into a Gymnastics Center. Youth gymnastics has grown to become one of our largest and most successful programs.
2004
The building was further expanded to include our existing Cardio Room. This allowed expansion of the Wellness Center into two separate rooms: one room primarily designed for cardio activity and the other for free weights to perform strength and conditioning training.
2006
A pavilion and concession stand was built to serve outdoor recreational sporting events.
2008
A new lobby was added to improve access to the facility adjacent to our parking lot. The more central location helped address traffic flow issues at the time. Additional restrooms and office space were also added.
2021
The Green County Family YMCA received a grant in the amount of $3,779,479 to address the lack of childcare and youth development infrastructure many parents were facing in our county. Secretary Missy Hughes of the Workforce and Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) came to Monroe for the Press Event because she recognized the impact this had upon the workforce.
2023
Today, the Green County Family YMCA is in the midst of a $25 million Building A Stronger Community capital campaign project which will significantly increase its footprint and expand the number of innovative programs that are able to be offered to the community. Groundbreaking on the 60,000 square foot expansion is slated to occur as soon as the $25 million goal is met. To learn more about this project, click here!
