Gallery: Y Buildings

The YM C A on Main Street

Hattiesburg's Y story begins in 1913 when C. C. Hightower , Howard A. Gilliam and V. L. Izard first conceived the idea of a YMCA building for the city. Following a $50,000 fundraiser, construction began at 701 N. Main Street in 1914, though work stopped in 1915 when money ran out.

The (then) War Department requested the completion of the facility to meet the needs of World War I soldiers training at Camp Shelby. With financial support from the National War Council, the building was finished in 1918 and operated almost solely for the benefit of soldiers into 1919.

(NOTE: An early 1900's postcard in our archives shows that a YMCA building also existed at Camp Shelby during this time- photo 3.)

After the war, the Main St. building was turned back over to the local YMCA. The main floor featured a gym, ping pong tables and space for shuffle-board, while the basement housed a locker room and a swimming pool; the pool was temporarily closed in 1946 due to the polio epidemic. The upper floors consisted of dorms which provided travelers in those days with a place to sleep.

The YMCA vacated the Main Street facility and moved into a new 12th Street location in 1959. The front part of the old Main Street structure was demolished in 1960, while the remaining portion was remodeled and served as the home office for The Southeastern Life Insurance Company. That structure was eventually demolished, and the site was prepared for the William M. Colmer Chancery Court Building which opened in 1974 and remains there today.

The YWC A on Hemphill Street

The YWCA was incorporated in Hattiesburg in 1918. The group initially used the club rooms over the Adler Furniture Store for their activities, then moved to the Central Electric Building on Main St.

A 1928 Hattiesburg American article congratulated the YWCA for the completion of its "beautiful new building." The 313 Hemphill Street facility was the former, remodeled Red Circle Auditorium.

In addition to swimming and other sponsored activities for young women, the facility hosted a variety of community functions. A 1952 fundraiser was held for capital improvements. The YMCA and YWCA merged to become the Family Y in 1982, the year in which the building may have closed.