“A Woman Alone: Mona Bell” Program

Stevenson, WA- She was one of Sam Hill’s mistresses. A colorful character, she lived in the mansion he built for her on the Oregon side of the Columbia River just five miles from the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum. And now her biographer is coming “home” to speak.

            John Harrison, formerly a reporter for The Columbian, will speak at the museum Sunday, July 18^th as part of the ongoing series, Sunday on the Gorge. His talk will be at 2 p.m. in the DeGroote Theatre and will include time for questions and answers. Attendance at the presentation is free with paid admission to the museum.

            Harrison’s book, A Woman Alone: Mona Bell, Sam Hill and the Mansion on Bonneville Rock, is a close look at a towering personality of her time. Bell was a reporter at a number of newspapers. She reportedly appeared in Wild West shows and was known to be a crack shot. And despite his dalliances with other women, she stayed true to Hill until his death in 1931. When the federal government offered her twenty-five thousand for her house to make room for Bonneville Dam, she sued and won a sum more than triple the original offer.

            Born in Minnesota in 1890, Bell was tall, athletic and well coordinated, according to Harrison. “She enjoyed being outdoors.   She learned to ride horses and shoot rifles and pistols with a great deal of accuracy.” Harrison said he became interested in her story in 1985 when he read Dr. John Tuhy’s biography, Sam Hill: the Prince of Castle Nowhere, which mentions Mona briefly. Harrison was covering the Gorge for The Columbian at the time, and he thought a story about Mona and her mansion would be interesting.

            “I contacted her son, Sam, who lived in California,” Harrison said.   “I interviewed him and wrote the story, which he liked. We agreed to collaborate on a book about is mother, but then disappeared. Just vanished! After an extensive search, I found out what happened to him and I finally wrote the book.”            Although the presentation is not about selling his book, he will have it available for those who attend and will gladly autograph your copy.

            The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (800) 991-2338 or (509) 427-8211 for further information.