Thank You to Our Sponsors and Partners

Century Chest Exhibit

First Lutheran Church of Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Historical Society
Friends of the Oklahoma History Center
The 1889ers Society
Oklahoma Genealogical Society
First Families of the Twin Territories
Oklahoma County Medical Society
Oklahoma City/County Historical Society
OKC Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Royal Neighbors of America
John and Virginia Weinmann
Oklahoma Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
Ladies Music Club of Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Philomathea Club
Oklahoma PEO Sisterhood
Barbara Atkinson
Pam Guffey
Dr. Thomas H. Flasher III
Dr. David Holden
Ann Marshall
Mary Lee Smiser
Elizabeth Prosser
Jamie Farha
James and Rebecca Buchanan
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Powell
Margaret Malloy
John and Barbara Keating
Donald and Mary Henline
Thomas and Carolyn Hall
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
The City of Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Archeological Survey
Andy Slaucitajs
Oklahoma School for the Blind
The staff and volunteers of the Oklahoma Historical Society


Opening Event April 22, 2013

Choctaw Nation
Chickasaw Nation
Mercedes Benz of Oklahoma City
Metropolitan Auto Dealers Association
Pinion Design and Contracting of Oklahoma City
OETA - The Oklahoma Network
Bob and Margaret Mills
Rotary Club 29 Foundation

View the Collection Online

The Oklahoma History Center Museum has closed, but you can still explore the items found in the Oklahoma Century Chest online, including photographs, letters, documents, and more. View the Century Chest collection online.

About the Century Chest

On April 22, 1913, a Century Chest was buried in the basement of the First English Lutheran Church (now the First Lutheran Church of Oklahoma City) at 1300 North Robinson. The ceremony was witnessed by a capacity crowd including Governor Lee Cruce and other residents.

Through a century of dutiful vigilance, the congregation of the First Lutheran Church guarded the Century Chest. On April 22, 2013, the items from the chest were unveiled in a public ceremony. The church has partnered with the Oklahoma Historical Society to preserve the artifacts from the chest for future generations.




Classroom resources link

For Teachers and Students

Explore the era of the Century Chest with our online "then and now" section, biographies of key people, and activities.
Find out more.



Oklahomans write postcards to the future!

See some of the messages submitted.








Chad Williams, director of the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Division, talks about
the history of the First Lutheran Church's Century Chest.