Idah Meacham Strobridge

Idah Meacham Strobridge (June 9, 1855 – February 8, 1932) was an American writer and bookbinder. Known primarily for a trio of works about the Great Basin which mix folktales, fiction, sketches, and nature writing: In Miners' Mirage-Land, The Loom of the Desert (1907) and The Land of Purple Shadows (1909).

Biography Born in Moraga Valley, California, in June 1855. She was the only daughter of Phebe and George Meacham. Idah Meacham moved as a child with her parents to Nevada in the 1860s. The family homesteaded a ranch in Lassen Meadows between Lovelock and Winnemucca (near present-day Rye Patch Reservoir in Pershing County). Her father established the Humboldt House hotel, hoping to capitalize on the newly completed Central Pacific Railroad line nearby. During her years at the Humboldt House, Idah was exposed to people from different backgrounds who later influenced the characters in her writings.

She moved back to California to attend Mills Seminary College, now known as Mills College, in Oakland, California. Her residence became a popular place for writers, artists, and craftsmen. She was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1997.

References and further reading

Zanjani, Sally Springmeyer. A mine of her own : women prospectors in the American West, 1850-1950, Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Hirahara, Naomi; Knatz, Geraldine; and Lynxwile, J Eric. Terminal Island : lost communities of Los Angeles Harbor, Santa Monica, California : Angel City Press, 2015