Untold Stories of Idaho Falls: The First Lady of Idaho Falls

Join Soiled Dove on Tuesday, October 21st, for the next chapter of Untold Stories of Idaho Falls, where we uncover the remarkable and often overlooked histories that shaped our community.

This time, Carrie Athay brings to life the story of Rebecca Mitchell and the Village Improvement Society, a group of determined women whose quiet leadership transformed early Idaho Falls from a rough frontier town into a thriving, livable city.

Rebecca Mitchell—rarely mentioned in official histories—organized neighbors, championed civic reform, and set in motion projects that gave the city its first parks, cleaner streets, and cultural institutions. At the heart of her legacy was the Village Improvement Society: women armed not with political power, but with vision, persistence, and an unshakable belief in what their town could become.

Behind the gentle title of “improvement” lay a radical idea—that ordinary women could shape civic destiny. Their work left a legacy still visible today in the very fabric of Idaho Falls.

Join us for an inspiring evening as we uncover the civic courage of Rebecca Mitchell and the Village Improvement Society—stories of grit, vision, and determination that echo through our community to this very day.