The city of Ligonier has three new "residents" who are brightening the landscape in the downtown area.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, three life-like, bronze statues were put in place this past week. The permanent fixtures are attracting a lot of attention from residents and visitors.

Two of the statues were put on concrete blocks in front of the Ligonier Police Department building on S. Cavin Street in the heart of the downtown area. One depicts a boy holding a baby lamb while the other shows a boy playing tug-of-war with his dog. The third statue of a girl, seated on a bench and reading a book, is on the lawn of the Ligonier Public Library.

The sculptures were done in bronze by Utah artist Dan Hill, who enjoys a national reputation for his artwork. Hundreds of cities across the United States have at least one Hill sculpture, and now Ligonier can be added to the list.

The three pieces were delivered and set up on Wednesday by Dan Hill Jr., the artist's son, and his daughter, Cassie Hill, and their two teenage boys.

One of the most intriguing things about the sculptures, along with their dramatic attention to detail and realistic poses, is that the city's residents may never know who is responsible for them.

Betty Peterson of the Ligonier Visitors Center is one of the few people in the city who knows the name of the benefactor and she's not about to break her silence. The value of the three statues was not divulged, but on the artist's web site, similar statues are listed for sale in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, each.

"I just think it's a marvelous gesture from a very nice person," Peterson said.

She was contacted several months ago with the offer and it didn't take long for her to say yes and work out the details with the artist. Dan Hill Jr. takes a personal interest in helping his father get his artwork out to their customers. He drove cross-country with several statues in the back of the family van. They made stops in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Ohio before coming to Ligonier. He and his wife put in a lot of sweat-equity to install the Ligonier statues on a hot, summer day.

The statues are made of bronze but are hollow inside. The statue of the boy playing with his dog weighs about 150 pounds and the dog weighs 90 pounds. he said. "They are done using the lost-wax method," he said. That method, which is father uses for most of his work, starts with a mold made of wax and then the bronze is poured over it and the wax removed.

Peterson said a fourth statue may be on its way to Ligonier sometime in 2010. If financing can be arranged, more statues could wind up in Ligonier in future years.

Peterson and other city officials say the bronze sculptures are a nice compliment to the city's aggressive mural program which already has attracted many visitors. More than a dozen wall-length, color murals have been painted in the downtown area in the past two years, and more are in the works. The murals have been funded from community gifts and local businesses, with the Future Ligonier Alliance taking the lead in the project.