On August 10 to 17, 1958, the citizens of Tell City decided to honor the early settlers and the founding of Tell City with a grand centennial celebration. Following the success of the Centennial, the Tell City Historical Society decided to sponsor a festival in 1959 as an experiment to determine if the community would support an annual celebration. That festival, appropriately named Schweizer Fest (Swiss Festival), was huge success.

The festival continued and in 1966 management of the festival was placed in the hands of a volunteer group incorporated as a non-profit organization, called "The Tell City Schweizer Fest, Inc."

Under the guidance of Schweizer Fest, Inc., the Schweizer Fest has become a well-known, community-wide celebration, offering free entertainment and activities for people of all ages. It is now one of Indiana's longest running community festivals. The cooperative efforts of many civic groups, clubs, organizations, and businesses make Schweizer Fest a grand success.