She was active in the women\u2019s suffrage movement and helped lead Idaho to become the fourth state to recognize women\u2019s right to vote. In her later years, she served as the first female chaplain in the Idaho Legislature.<\/p>\n
![\"rebecca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rebecca-pic-2.jpg\")
Photo of Rebecca Brown Mitchell provided by the Museum of Idaho <\/p>\n
Callie Avondet, the co-chair of the Rebecca Mitchell Project, tells EastIdahoNews.com that Heritage Park, which has been in development since 2016, is slated for completion in November. The statue of Mitchell will be installed in conjunction with the park\u2019s completion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe park is intended to commemorate the heritage of Eagle Rock and Idaho Falls. Different things will be (displayed there) to highlight the local history,\u201d Avondet says. \u201cWe are hoping to have the sculpture finished by November because that will be 130 years since women\u2019s suffrage was adopted in Idaho.\u201d<\/p>\n
RELATED | She arrived with nothing \u2014 now Idaho Falls is honoring a forgotten trailblazer<\/a><\/p>\n The goal of the statue project is to help the community know a little more about its history and help locals foster a sense of excitement and appreciation for their hometown.<\/p>\n A rendering of the sculpture shows Mitchell holding a shovel, which Avondet says highlights her efforts as a \u201cgroundbreaker\u201d in Idaho Falls.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was a groundbreaker in so many different ways, and this is symbolic of that. She\u2019s also holding a banner because she was a proponent for women\u2019s suffrage, as well as the temperance movement,\u201d says Avondet.<\/p>\n Funds for the $150,000 project are being paid for through donations. As of last month, Avondet says they\u2019ve raised about a fifth of the total and are hoping to have all the money in place before November. If not, they\u2019ll wait until April 2027 to install it.<\/p>\n Museum of Idaho Managing Director Chloe Doucette, a member of the Rebecca Mitchell Project committee, says Mitchell is a prominent part of the museum\u2019s storytelling because of all she accomplished in her life. Her dress, hymnal, and a representation of her classroom are on display in the museum. <\/p>\n A chapter in Sharon McMahon\u2019s 2024 book<\/a>, \u201cThe Small and the Mighty,\u201d is devoted to Mitchell\u2019s story, and Doucette says that helped bring Mitchell to people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n \u201cHer story is very important to us, and we\u2019re very grateful that Callie and the rest of the Rebecca Mitchell Project crew decided to do something visible (to honor her) so that everyone can understand that story,\u201d Doucette says. <\/p>\n Avondet says she first became aware of Mitchell in 2021 while listening to an episode of McMahon\u2019s podcast. McMahon highlighted historical women from each state, and Mitchell was the focus<\/a> of the episode about Idaho. Hearing Mitchell\u2019s story for the first time was \u201cjaw dropping\u201d for her.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in Idaho Falls \u2026 and I had never heard about her,\u201d Avondet recalls. \u201cWhen I finished listening to that podcast, I thought, There needs to be a statue of this woman in the city so that people recognize her achievements.\u201d<\/p>\n The project got underway in February 2025 shortly after the committee was formed. Irene Juliette Deely of Eagle was hired to make the statue. Deely is the face behind many sculptures in Idaho, including a bronze statue near the Capitol building in Boise commemorating women\u2019s right to vote. Her sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln sits in front of the Black History Museum in Boise\u2019s Julia Davis Park, and her likeness of William Borah, Idaho\u2019s longest-serving U.S. Senator, sits near the historic Boise Post Office. <\/p>\n RELATED | Historian says Lincoln won Civil War with the \u2018idea of Idaho,\u2019 and early governor might have prevented assassination<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Rebecca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dress-display.jpg\")
Rebecca Brown Mitchell\u2019s dress on display in a representation of her classroom at the Museum of Idaho | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com<\/p>\n![\"mitchell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mitchell-hymnal.jpg\")
Mitchell\u2019s hymnal is in storage at the Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com<\/p>\n
![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RMP-team.jpg\")
Jeff Carr, left, Chloe Doucette, center, and Callie Avondet, next to the Rebecca Mitchell display in the Museum of Idaho. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com<\/p>\n