The Witte Museum centennial marks 100 years of Texas history with public celebrations in San Antonio on Oct. 10, 2026. A special exhibition revisits an unsolved 1968 diamond theft and the museum’s unusual early programs. Visitors can also explore displays on fossils, archaeology and Texas food traditions.
Key Takeaways
- The Witte Museum opened Oct. 8, 1926, after student fundraising and a $65,000 bequest
- Two anniversary events are scheduled for Oct. 10, including a daytime family gathering and an adults-only evening program
- A centennial exhibition features more than 115 objects and revisits the unsolved 1968 McFarlin Diamond theft
- Exhibitions exploring Texas history, fossils and food traditions are scheduled to remain open into 2027
San Antonio’s Witte Museum turned 100 on Oct. 8, and its anniversary exhibition is revisiting a long-missing diamond alongside the institution’s collections. The 49.73-carat McFarlin Diamond disappeared in 1968, and the theft remains unsolved. The exhibition includes a replica and an interactive recreation of the disappearance.
The display is part of centennial programming that includes public birthday events on Saturday, Oct. 10, and temporary exhibitions examining Texas history and natural science. The museum’s story began with a teacher and her students, whose natural history collection preceded its permanent home in Brackenridge Park.
Witte Museum Centennial Celebrations Set for Oct. 10
The daytime Party of the Century is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at 3801 Broadway in San Antonio. The museum is charging $11 admission per person, extending its child-rate price to adults for the anniversary. The announced program includes live music, food vendors, animal encounters, face painting, interactive art and hands-on activities.
A separate event, Party of the Century: After Hours, is scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m. for adults 21 and older. Saint Motel and DJ CatWalk are among the scheduled performers. General admission is listed at $50, while $100 VIP tickets include two drink tickets, reserved areas and private restrooms, according to the museum’s event information and local reporting.
Witte Museum members receive free admission to the daytime party and discounts for the evening event, the museum says. Daytime reservations are recommended. On Oct. 19, a separately ticketed 100th Birthday Witte Game Dinner is also scheduled, with music from The Wilder Blue.
The gatherings follow the museum’s formal anniversary on Oct. 8, the date its original building opened in 1926. The museum has paired the birthday events with exhibitions that remain on view beyond the October celebrations.
The Museum’s Origins and an Unsolved Diamond Theft Share the Spotlight
The institution grew out of educator Ellen Schulz Quillin’s effort to give San Antonio students direct access to natural history. In 1923, Quillin and her students raised money to acquire the H.P. Attwater collection, which was installed at Main Avenue High School. Wildlife specimens and displays helped establish the collection that became the foundation of the Witte Museum.
In September 1925, businessman Alfred G. Witte left $65,000 for a museum in Brackenridge Park. The city matched the bequest, and architect Robert Ayers worked on the building, named for Witte’s parents. The Witte Museum opened on Oct. 8, 1926, beside the San Antonio River.
Its collections soon expanded to historical objects, Texas art and research material gathered during archaeological expeditions in the Lower Pecos and Big Bend. Researchers documented rock art and early human artifacts. Elsewhere in San Antonio, preservation work at the Alamo has also involved archaeological excavations and the examination of historical objects.
During the Great Depression, Quillin created a Reptile Garden that attracted a reported 800 visitors on opening day, each paying 10 cents. A herpetologist demonstrated extracting rattlesnake venom for research related to antivenom, while rattlesnake dinners became recurring museum fundraisers. The anniversary exhibition revisits that history through an activity comparing visitors’ reaction times with a rattlesnake strike.
A different episode entered the museum’s history in 1968, when the McFarlin Diamond was stolen during HemisFair. The yellow diamond, described in local reporting as weighing 49.73 carats, was never recovered. The centennial exhibition presents the episode through a replica and interactive reconstruction rather than claiming to resolve the theft.
“The Witte Museum: 100 Years” opened April 11 and runs through Jan. 9, 2027. More than 115 objects from museum collections and archives document early teaching methods, traveling exhibitions and later changes to the campus. The exhibition is included with general museum admission.
New Exhibitions Examine Texas Fossils, Rock Art and Food
“Adventures in Texas Deep Time,” which opened July 18, examines evidence spanning hundreds, thousands and millions of years. The museum presents archaeological and paleontological discoveries alongside explanations of how researchers study fossils, rock art and historical records. The exhibition is included with general admission through March 14, 2027.
Displays cover mosasaur fossils from Bexar County, dinosaur remains from Big Bend National Park and Ice Age animals from Friesenhahn Cave. Another section looks at West Texas rock art and the research methods used to document ancient images. Interactive elements allow visitors to search for hidden artifacts with archaeological tools and create a dinosaur trackway.
A separate exhibition on South Texas prehistoric history opened in Laredo this summer, featuring fossils and evidence of ancient environments. Developed with researchers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, that exhibition also examines the region’s prehistoric landscapes.
Discussing the Witte Museum’s approach to presenting evidence across different periods, President and CEO Michelle Cuellar Everidge told the San Antonio Report, “So it’s a return to that first interpretation of what the museum should collect and how it should display its stories.”
A second exhibition, “Gather ’Round the Table: Texas Food Traditions,” opened Sept. 12 and is scheduled through Feb. 7, 2027. The displays trace how Indigenous knowledge, migration, agriculture, food preservation and trade influenced regional meals. At an interactive table, visitors can build a plate and examine choices such as corn or flour tortillas and red or green salsa.
Other exhibits cover refrigeration, canning and foods associated with areas including the Hill Country and Rio Grande Valley. The museum requires a separate ticket for the food traditions exhibition, while the centennial history exhibition and “Adventures in Texas Deep Time” are included with general admission.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Witte Museum open?
The Witte Museum opened Oct. 8, 1926, in San Antonio’s Brackenridge Park. Its origins date to 1923, when Ellen Schulz Quillin and her students began building a natural history collection.
What events are scheduled for the centennial?
The Witte Museum centennial includes a family-focused event on Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by an adults-only event from 6 to 10 p.m. Both are scheduled at 3801 Broadway in San Antonio.
Was the stolen McFarlin Diamond recovered?
The diamond stolen in 1968 has not been recovered, according to museum information and local reporting. The centennial exhibition features a replica and an interactive recreation of the disappearance.
Which anniversary exhibitions run into 2027?
“The Witte Museum: 100 Years” runs through Jan. 9, “Gather ’Round the Table” through Feb. 7 and “Adventures in Texas Deep Time” through March 14, 2027. The museum lists different admission requirements for the exhibitions.
