Marshall in Lyon County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Honoring Marshall Area Artist Jim Dahl
(1958-2012)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 15, 2026
1. Honoring Marshall Area Artist Jim Dahl Marker
Jim Dahl was a gifted and well-known Marshall area artist and the founder of the Mrs. Whitney statue project. He moved from Watertown, South Dakota to Marshall with his family in 1973. He graduated from Marshall High School and worked at various jobs in Marshall. At the time of his death, he was employed downtown at Patzer's Hardware Hank where he was a regular fixture and a cheerful and helpful "Mr. Fixit". Jim enjoyed his work, making art and conversation, and socializing with his friends after work. He divided his time between his home and studio in Cottonwood and his mother's home in Marshall, all the while making art.
Jim enrolled in art classes at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) but overall, he was a self-taught artist who learned and mastered a wide variety of media. Jim was a prolific artist, making things wherever he went, sketching on matchbook covers while hanging out with his friends or stacking rocks for impromptu sculptures. He welded scrap iron to make yard birds and assembled wildly creative diorama like boxes. He drew and painted landscapes, portraits and an endless variety of subjects.
He
this page online
Jim had a long running passion and vision of a statue for downtown Marshall. His idea began to take root in 2011 with the partnership of the City of Marshall, Marshall Community Services, MAFAC and Southwest Minnesota Arts Council (SMAC) as Minnesota Arts Legacy grant funds were awarded for the project. The goal was to create an original life-sized bronze figure with historical reference to the area to be displayed in a prominent location in Marshall. The figure would be Mrs. Whitney as she christened and named the city of Marshall in 1872. Two SMSU art professors, Jim Swartz and John Sterner, joined the creative team to mentor, critique and manage the project through its many production stages.
Jim
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 15, 2026
2. Honoring Marshall Area Artist Jim Dahl Marker
Marker on other side of kiosk.
On August 18, 2012 the project came to a halt with the untimely death of Jim Dahl. The Marshall community mourned the passing of a talented artist and friend.
Jim's Mrs. Whitney statue was not yet complete. It became clear that it would be impossible to complete Jim's statue without it transitioning into someone else's work. Every little mark in the clay should be like Jim's signature, every idea and form his own. The decision was made to choose a new artist to begin again on a statue of Mrs. Whitney.
(John Sterner was selected as the new artist, and a new sculpture was begun. The final Mrs. Whitney statue was cast in bronze at the Anurag Art Foundry in Stillwater, MN and dedicated in a public ceremony attended by many community members including the family of Jim Dahl. The dedication occurred on the one-year anniversary of Jim's death, August 18, 2013.)
Erected by the City of Marshall through the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work. A significant historical month for this entry is March 2012.
Location. 44° 27.012′ N, 95° 47.082′ W. Marker is in Marshall, Minnesota, in Lyon County. It is at the intersection of College Drive (State Highway 19/68) and 3rd Street, on the left when traveling east on College Drive. The marker and statue are north adjacent to Liberty Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Marshall MN 56258, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Minnesota. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and on the Great Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the territory of the Mississippian Culture.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mrs. Mary Alicia Wirt Whitney (here, next to this marker); Mrs. Whitney Statue Artist John Knife Sterner (here, next to this marker); Mary Alicia Wirt Whitney (a few steps from this marker); Main Street (approx. 0.3 miles away); Main Street & East College Drive (approx. 0.3 miles away); Main Street & Third Street (approx. 0.3 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); 9/11 Memorial Park/Designer Gene Ernst's Inspiration and Vision (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Marshall.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 21, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 21, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
