Past Exhibits

Fred Mohling (1894–1984)

Fred Mohling was born in 1894 in Gladstone, Nebraska, and grew up in a German-speaking household. From an early age, he worked the land alongside his family, developing a deep connection to rural life that would later shape his art. Fred’s love for art began as a child. At just four years old, an uncle’s drawing inspired him to start creating his own. By age eight, he had been gifted his first watercolor set, and at twelve, he won his first art prize.

In 1920, Fred and his wife Tillie moved to Pleasant Valley Township in South Dakota, where they raised cattle, crops, and seven children. The farm’s landscapes, animals, and daily rhythms became recurring themes in his work. He also enjoyed building hand-crafted outdoor features, feeding wildlife, and tending to the land. When Tillie passed away in 1940, Fred turned to art as both solace and self-expression. He painted late into the night, capturing the complexity and beauty of the world around him.

Though largely self-taught, Fred began exhibiting in the 1950s, winning awards at the South Dakota State Fair and showing his work throughout the state. He is listed in the Biographical Dictionary of Artists of the American West. Fred retired from farming in 1971 but continued painting and drawing—sometimes recreating earlier works. Over his lifetime, he produced more than 150 oil paintings and numerous drawings.

Copy of Barb Murphy(3) 2
Copy of John Swanson(3) 3
Copy of Greg Miller _Thrashing_ 3
Copy of Zach Miller 2
Fred Mohling painting[2]
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1963 Fred Mohling_edited

"Fall In" Memorial Day Exhibit

A past summer Memorial Day exhibit was comprised of military items donated and on loan that span across more than a century of military history, including the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and Afghanistan. The exhibit had on display memorabilia such as a 19th-century medical kit in pristine condition used during the Spanish-American War, a Red Cross uniform, multiple military uniforms, a Nazi flag and military cap, firearms, buttons, gas masks, government posters and photographs. There was also a Fallen Soldier display in a corner of the exhibit, put together by DWU student and Army veteran Jerry Stravia.

"Faces and Fashions of the Middle Border"

A look at the fashions of the Middle Border and the faces that went with the fashion. Clothing from each decade from the 1880s through the 1940s was highlighted along with images of people, known and unknown who lived in this region during those 60 years.

Hiawatha Asylum

“In 1898, the U. S. Congress authorized the opening of the first and only insane asylum for Indians in the United States. Operated in Canton, SD from 1903 – 1935, the Hiawatha Insane Asylum was used to house tribal peoples from all across the United States. A motivation to better the psychiatric care and mental health of the tribal population across the United States had little or nothing to do with committal to the asylum; and much to do with other, less beneficent motivations. Dakota Discovery Museum presented stories from Hiawatha in the fall of 2018.

"The Hunt"

“The Hunt,” a series of exhibits about hunting in this region.

The exhibit was divided into three time periods: Pre-Lewis and Clark (before 1804); Lewis and Clark and the Mountain Man Era (1804-1860); and Post-Mountain Man Era (1860-1940).

This exhibit was a first-time collaborative effort involving Dakota Discovery Museum, Akta Lakota Museum (part of St. Joseph Indian School) in Chamberlain, and Dr. John Mathrole. “Dixie Thompson is the executive director of Akta Lakota Museum and has graciously provided art, artifacts and expertise. John holds a doctorate in toxicology and has a deep passion for America history, specializing in the Revolutionary War, Lewis and Clark, and the mountain man era. He is also an enrolled member of the Creek Tribe and as an avid re-enactor and has an extensive personal collection of articles associated with Lewis and Clark and mountain men, which he has placed on loan to the museum for the duration of the exhibit.”

The exhibit included paintings, sculptures, artifacts from the Dakota Discovery Museum collection, as well as items on loan from ALM, full-body animal mounts, furs, and articles of clothing dating from Revolutionary War era, a Lewis and Clark uniform, mountain man apparel, wampum, firearms, knives and other mountain man accoutrements. Also, there is a history of buffalo hunting, pheasants in South Dakota, and of trophy hunting.

"The Faces and Fashions of the Middle Border."

This exhibit combined two of the museum's extensive collections, photographs and textiles, to illustrate life in the Middle Border Region from the mid-1840s to 1936.

The term "Middle Border" refers to the Missouri River and the surrounding region. Hamlin Garland, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, used the term in "Sons of the MIddle Border" (1917) and its sequel, "A Daughter of the Middle Border" (1922).

Created and developed under the leadership of museum volunteer Pat Everett, the "Faces and Fashions" exhibit features several recent museum acquisitions, including a bustle skirt from the late 1890s and flapper dresses from the 1920s. Other pieces include a boy's outfit, a child's bicycle, a tuxedo worn to the 1904 inauguration of South Dakota Gov. Samuel H. Elrod, and shoes from children to adult.

Incorporated into the exhibit was a small sampling of the museum's more than 6,000 photographs that depict life in the Middle Border area. Photographs on exhibit include the 1907 graduating class from Mitchell High School; Mr and Mrs. Frederick Yerke, homesteaders in Lyman County; Mitchell citizens in front of the Mitchell Marble and Granite Co.; a political rally, featuring Theodore Roosevelt, held on the steps of what is today's LIFE church; the 1893 Corn Palace; and a 1912 photograph of Pierre showing part of the newly constructed state Capitol building in the background.

"First on the Scene" Exhibit

Included in this exhibit were various pieces of equipment and memorabilia from law enforcement, firefighters and the American Red Cross, including the story of the only law enforcement death in Mitchell, an early piece of hand-pulled firefighting equipment, a selection of Red Cross uniforms, numerous newspaper clippings, photographs and other items.

The items on display came from a variety of sources including the museum's collection and contributions from Lyle Swenson, head of the Mitchell Area Historical Society, Chief of Public Safety Lyndon Overweg, the Mitchell Police and Fire divisions and the Sioux Falls office of the American Red Cross.

The 9-11 Memorial Flag was on display as well, and contained the names of every service individual who lost their lives in the terrorist attack of 2001.

To the right are a few pictures from the exhibit.