Connections: The Kirkman Family and Whitman College

By Rogers Miles
Board Director and Chair of the Development and Marketing Committee

Each autumn, as Whitman College welcomes a new class of students to campus, the Kirkman House Museum celebrates a relationship that has endured for more than 150 years.

From August 14 through September 13, the museum will once again present Connections: The Kirkman Family and Whitman College, an exhibit exploring the deep and lasting connections between the Kirkman family and Whitman College. First presented in 2024, the exhibit highlights a partnership that culminated in Isabella Kirkman's generous gift of the Kirkman mansion to Whitman College in 1919.

For William and Isabella Kirkman, education represented one of the great opportunities their adopted country offered. Both believed deeply in learning and recognized possibilities in America that would have been difficult to achieve within the rigid class structure of the British Isles.

Their commitment to education became a family tradition. All four Kirkman children attended Whitman College, as did members of the next generation. One granddaughter, Ruth Reynolds, served as Whitman's head librarian for more than forty years, leaving her own lasting legacy on the campus.

William Kirkman's influence extended well beyond his own family. As a founding member of Whitman College's Board of Trustees, he also served as the college's treasurer during its formative years. He used both his leadership and his personal financial resources to help secure Whitman's first president and, throughout his life, quietly assisted students who otherwise could not afford a college education.

The story of the Kirkman family is, in many ways, also part of the story of Whitman College. Connections invites visitors to discover how one family's belief in education helped shape an institution that continues to serve generations of students.