Meet Isabella Potts Kirkman, the girl who grew up on a flax farm in Ballybay, Ireland and  traveled to America to join her sisters in California. Was she an indentured servant? A mail order bride? Isabella will tell all: her humble origins in Ireland, her journey to the New World--even a family scandal!  In 1867 she married William Kirkman—the cattleman, farmer and entrepreneur.  She’ll share her struggles in the rough and tumble mining towns of Idaho, where William continued his interest in the cattle business until they moved to Walla Walla. Isabella will recount incidents of  her life as a society matron here, where with the help of her Chinese domestic, she and William raised their children and entertained the Who’s Who of Walla Walla.  Her home is now known as Kirkman House Museum, an elegant brick home built in the Italianate Victorian style.

Isabella Kirkman is portrayed by Kirkman House Board Member Susan Monahan.