photo by: Watkins Museum of History

The Watkins Museum of History will be opening a temporary exhibition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Haskell Memorial Stadium.

The Watkins Museum of History will be opening a new exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Haskell Memorial Stadium.

The free exhibition, “Lights, Football, Community: Haskell Memorial Stadium Turns 100,” will be on view in the museum’s second floor changing exhibit from Friday to January 16, 2027. The exhibition celebrates Haskell Indian Nations University’s football stadium, which was built in 1926.

“As a Haskell Indian Nations University alum and an Indigenous studies researcher, the Haskell Memorial Stadium stands as a large reminder to me,” Kennedy Murphy, Apache Tribe of Oklahoma and Watkins Indigenous studies intern, said in a press release from the museum. “A reminder of the collective history of Indian boarding schools and all their complexities, a reminder of all Haskell Institute students and their experiences, and a reminder of Indigenous resiliency. Today, the Haskell Memorial Stadium stands as a reminder of determination, strength, and community. The stadium houses generations of memories and will continue to stand for future generations to create their own memories.”

The exhibition will include promotional items from the museum’s collection, photographs from the Kansas State Historical Society and the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum, and stadium construction photographs and archival documents on loan from the family of Frank McDonald, who led the fundraising campaign.

“We are honored to showcase the history of Haskell Memorial Stadium, not only the first lighted stadium in the Midwest but also a World War I memorial to the 415 Haskell Institute servicemembers in the Great War,” Andrew Stockmann, the museum’s Curator of Exhibitions, said in the release. “We appreciate our partnership with the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum, and extend our thanks to its director, Travis Campbell, who lent several photographs for this exhibition, as well as the football from the dedication game 100 years ago.”

The Watkins Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and admission to the museum and the exhibition is free.