Bellefontaine was a railroad town from the 1890s to the 1950s and the site of one of the largest roundhouses and repair centers on the Big Four and New York Central lines, where steam engines were serviced and crews were switched. Up to ninety freight trains and more than forty passenger trains came to Bellefontaine each day, and the railroad was a major employer in Logan County, with more than two hundred employees working at the roundhouse and shops at any one time and many others serving on train crews. Bellefontaine’s importance as a railroad center waned in the 1960s with the increased use of diesel engines, newer technology, and other modes of transportation, but the railroad and its workers left an indelible mark on the city’s history. Bellefontaine’s role as a railroad town also brought many railroad workers to the area, and those who did not live there needed a place to stay and eat while waiting for their next shifts. In 1901 the Big Four Railroad opened the first YMCA in Bellefontaine, and in 1923 it built a larger building at this site to house and feed its transitory employees. The building contained forty-nine small bedrooms, a restaurant, and a special center for railroaders, and nearly 8,000 workers used the Railroad YMCA each year. It was a second home for many and a symbol of Bellefontaine as a railroad town before it was razed in 2009.