YWCA celebrates its first century as a ‘corporation’ in 2019

On May 23, 2017, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of our YWCA charter with a birthday party.

A letter and the above certificate from Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s office alerted us to another anniversary. This Century Corporation Certificate commemorates our incorporation 100 years ago in April 1919.

“Incorporations were at that time either delivered by horseback, steam wheeler or train. Because few owned cars, and the roads outside of Olympia were virtually impassable, incorporating a business was quite an adventure,” the letter said.

We don’t have a record of how, but no doubt the women who raised a year’s operating expenses ($5,000) in one week were up to the task!

Nearly 2,500 incorporations were filed in Washington state in 1919, and only 23 still exist today, two in Walla Walla: YWCA and Colfax Consulting Service.