24/09/2026
Throwback Thursday!
The first meeting of the new YWCA association was held on September 10, 1907 in Winston Salem. The association met in a room located over the Brown-Rogers Hardware Store, located near the corner of West Fourth and Main Streets. The founding committee furnished the room and were in the process of preparing a reading room as well. The aim of the association was to bring young ladies closer together, both religiously and socially. Much of the support came from the local churches, but the association also sought contributions from individuals. The association hoped to develop into a regular chapter of the International YWCA.
An article in the Twin City Sentinel a couple of weeks later reported that three rooms were furnished in the suite. There was a small lunchroom, a little alcove known as the “resting room,” and the large reading room. Furniture was purchased for the rooms, and devotional exercises were held on Sunday by a local minister. The hope was expressed that this would be a permanent organization that the community would support.
The photograph above was taken near the corner of West Fourth Street and Main Streets. Brown-Rogers Hardware Store is the building on the corner. Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
