I grew up on a historic homestead, next to the Madison River, tending the land that once belonged to the Thexton family. I knew the family name, but their pasts were wholly unfamiliar to me. Their vast connections to the Madison Valley and historic Virginia City made them important figures not only in my own life but also in the development of the area. This project grew out of a place of wishing to uncover their history, which had been lost to time. Through research, archival work, and an eventual step away from and return to this project due to my connection with this land and this homestead being severed, I’ve finally come to understand just who the Thextons are and all of the pain and loss they experienced in their lifetimes.

In some ways, I feel as though I’ve walked alongside their lingering spirits.