Oroville has a colorful history as a gold mining town. During the years just before the YMCA started, saloons, gambling houses, and red light districts were very numerous. Oroville was a town of busy stores and crowded jails. Throngs of men gathered in the streets. The Northern California Newspaper called Oroville “The wickedest town in all of California.”

Mr. Ehmann, of the Ehmann Olive Company, and other local businessmen became concerned with the young people and the influence of the rough and tumble town. The men decided that Oroville needed a dedicated person to direct the goings-on of the youth, and direct their moral development. They served as the first Board of Directors for the Oroville YMCA. Together they raised $9,000.00 to fund the position of General Secretary, today called an Executive Director, for three years. The first General Secretary was Mr. Fred Duckles. Mr. Duckles was recruited from Harvard University, where he studied Boy Psychology.

From local newspaper accounts, some of Mr. Duckles’ work included adult education, family relief efforts, personal conferences with boys regarding their spiritual and moral path, public school curriculum development, thrift efforts, funeral services, assistance in securing employment, the Boy Scout movement, fundraising for the army YMCA and the red cross during the war, served on the local YMCA council, was a substitute teacher for any church who requested, helped institute the elementary school as a social center, hired the first playground supervisors, and encouraged lifeguards at pools.

Over the years, as the needs of the community changed, the efforts of the YMCA changed. The mission has always been the same: Striving to build healthy individuals, strong families, and respect for our community through Christian values based programs.

Today, the Oroville YMCA is the only Y in Butte County. The Oroville Y is a program agency, as opposed to a facility based fitness center. We have a building and a swimming pool on the corner of Oak and Robinson Streets. Although we have a rich and well documented past, we look forward to securing our place in the history books with our own programs and dedication to our community.

We invite you to take part. Whether it is as a donor, volunteer, board member, employee, or just attending one of our programs does not matter. We have a lot to offer, and so do you.