November 16, 2011

In 1890, Joseph Merrill, a Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) philanthropist, opened the Merrill Institute, which consisted of several rooms, a library, and a swimming pool. The building, shown here in an illustration shortly after its construction, eventually became the first home of the Pine Bluff Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). It was remodeled in 1937, at which time the pool was covered and converted into a bowling alley.