Hello Frisco Folks, Here is an images of the Frisco Railway YMCA in Monett, MO. Take care, Rich Ship it on the Frisco! Building address was 518 Front Street, Monett, MO 65708. The Young men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London, England in 1844. The organization provided healthy activities based on Christian principals for young men during the industrial revolution. The first chapters in North America opened in 1851 in Montreal and Boston. By 1871 the first Railroad YMCA opened in Cleveland, OH. Soon railroads started partnering with YMCA chapters to provide wholesome meeting space and lodging to railroad workers. A railroad YMCA provided mainly railroad workers a convenient place for recreation, food and rest. Most facilities provided recreational activities, lounges, restaurants and sleeping rooms. Over time facilities were often expanded with additional amenities including cafeterias, libraries, swimming pools, horseshoe, croquet and even tennis courts. Originally the services were provided to member railroad workers. With a general decline in the number of railroad workers, and with facilities and services expanded, they generally expanded their operations to the general public. The Monett building was built between August 1897 and September 1902. It does not appear on the earlier Sanborn map, but does on the later date map. The 1902 Sanborn map indicates the address was originally 310 Front Street. The map also indicates that there was a bowling alley in the basement. The building no longer shows on Sanborn Fire Insurance maps dated January 1949. Edit 1/27/2024: Added building address, operations narrative and narrowed timeline when building was built and removed. MKD
I've been researching Monett for a book I'm doing for Arcadia Publishing. I've been told the Frisco built the YMCA so workers would have a place to stay. A Monett resident said that Frisco employees dismantled this YMCA building in the 1940s and 1950s and removed it. I wonder if anyone is familiar with this dismantling, or others. Did they do this to keep the town from having to dismantle? Would they have used the materials for something else? This YMCA was right by the tracks, so they could have easily dismantled it and hauled away materials. Thanks! Elaine
