Tara Meixsell
1 book in the catalogue, published 2002.
Tara Meixsell wrote Silverheels, a historical novel about the dance hall woman of Buckskin Joe, Colorado, who is said to have nursed smallpox victims. Western Reflections Publishing issued it in 2002, and it is the one Meixsell book in our catalogue. The author blurb on the book's Amazon listing is the main source for what we can say about her.
About Tara Meixsell
That blurb says Tara Meixsell graduated from Reed College with a degree in Historical Literature. It adds that she runs a ranch near Alma, Colorado, works as a property management secretary, and enjoys horses, weaving and raising llamas. It says she spent six years researching Silverheels. We have only that one description and could not find a second source to confirm or extend it, so we won't guess at later work or a longer biography.
The setting fits the address. One retelling of the legend puts Buckskin Joe a couple of miles south of present-day Alma, and Mount Silverheels stands under five miles to the northeast of the town.
Books
What the books share
Silverheels is the only Meixsell book we have, so the themes are those of this one novel: a mining camp in South Park, Colorado, in the early 1860s, an epidemic, and a woman whose real story may be legend. The summary frames it as a tale of love and sacrifice, and the catalogue lists smallpox, women pioneers and Colorado fiction among its subjects. The author's blurb stresses research behind a story that some treat as folklore and others suspect is fact.
The subjects this author is catalogued under. Open Library record.
Next steps for readers of this author
Planning a South Park day
Fairplay's museum and the mountain views near Alma fit in one outing. Confirm opening dates on the museum website, because mountain towns often close for winter.
Sorting legend from record
The woman in the story may be folklore. The archives' timeline and photographs let you see what is actually documented for the Buckskin Joe years, and what isn't.
Choosing a second Colorado novel
If a fictional take on a real camp appeals, browse our library at /library/ for other Colorado books by region and compare how each handles a legend.
Go deeper
Silverheels is set in South Park, where the Buckskin Joe camp stood and where a mountain carries the legend's name. These sources help a reader separate the place from the folklore.
South Park City Museum
A Fairplay museum that says it shows a mining town of 1860 to 1900 using forty four authentic buildings. It names Buckskin Joe among the early camps.
Park County Local History Archives
The county archive lists photographs, a county timeline, oral histories and a Buckskin cemetery survey from 2010 among its materials.
Buckskin Joe, Park County (Wikipedia)
A reference page on the former gold town, founded in 1860 as Laurette, with notes on its courthouse and later fate.
Mount Silverheels (Wikipedia)
Gives the 13,829 foot summit's location in Pike National Forest, northeast of Alma.
Good to know
How many Tara Meixsell books does Western Reflections publish?
Is Silverheels history or fiction?
Where does Tara Meixsell live?
Writers like this one are how the list was built
We have published Colorado and Western writers since 1996, and every submission is still read by a person. Send yours, finished or half written.