Lucie Fulton Isaacs ( January 18, 1841- November 20,1916 ) was born near St. Joseph. She crossed the Great Plains in an emigrant wagon that left St. Joseph in April, 1847, and reached the Willamette Valley via the Oregon Trail and the Barlow Road. Isaacs arrived at her father’s Donation Land Claim near Lafayette, Oregon in September 1847.

Her father had 640 acres and built a log cabin. She traveled 3 miles everyday through the woods with her brother to reach her school. She was passionate about poetry and loved to read anything she could find. She received a copy of Harper’s Magazine in the late 1850’s and that opened up a new world and higher ideas for humanity to her.

Her father didnt think it was good for a woman to read too much because it could make her too strong minded. He would take the magazine from her and tell her it’s best for her to be helping her mother out with chores. She gradually became a writer of essays and articles for magazines such as the Overland and other western periodicals. She even wrote under various pen names because she was so shy.

Lucie married in 1860. Her husband Henry Perry Isaacs opened up for her opportunities for culture and self improvement that had been denied her as a woman. They moved to Walla Walla, Washington and lived there for 50 years.

Lucie became dedicated to the welfare and betterment of women. She was a leader in civic improvement. Isaacs was active in securing the installation of the first street drinking fountains. Her interests were diverse and she was thoughtful for what people needed at the time. She was a member of the first women’s club in Walla Walla organized in 1886. She had a prominent role in the first equal suffrage movement in Washington territory and became the president of the Walla Walla Women’s suffrage Club and lived to see full suffrage given to women and voted before her death in Walla Walla in 1916. The Isaacs had eight children.