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The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, was his home from 1874 to 1891. It’s the place where he spent his family years and wrote his most popular books. In 2003, the Webster Bank Museum Center at the Mark Twain House and Museum opened. Located behind and to the side of the carriage house, the museum freed the house and carriage house of office spaces and exhibition galleries. Robert A. M. Stern Architects designed the 32,700-square-foot building, which is the first in Connecticut and the first museum in the United States to achieve LEED Certification from the U.S.
North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM)
For numerous years the Hartford Public Library rented out the first floor, and the rest of the house remained private apartments; the guest suite was developed into a museum-memorial room. Restoration of the house began in 1963, the same year the house was designated a National Historic Landmark. Since then, extensive historical research has supported further projects to restore the house to its 1891 appearance. In 1871 Sam moved his family to Hartford‚ Connecticut‚ a city he had come to love while visiting his publisher there and where he had made friends. For the first few years the Clemenses rented a house in the heart of Nook Farm‚ a residential area that was home to numerous writers‚ publishers, and other prominent figures.
Twain Writes his Most Famous Books While Living in Hartford
It was a brilliant move — “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” sold 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week, topping 300,000 that year. These days, smoking is not allowed, but it’s been otherwise restored to perfection, complete with pool table and windows bearing the crests Twain designed — crossed pool cues and pipes surrounded by drinking vessels. Twain created his most beloved books in this house and our group headed up the wide stairs to see precisely where he laid the words to paper. While a small group of us waited for our official tour to start, we idled through a small museum across the hall.
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Although there was still much finish work to be completed‚ the family moved into their house on September 19‚ 1874. Construction delays and the ever-increasing costs of building their dream home frustrated Sam. The cabin that stands on the site today is a replica, built in 1922, but the fireplace and chimney are original.
Decorated by a group of designers led by the not-yet-famous Louis Comfort Tiffany, the house is a splendid, vivid display unto itself. Inspired by the styles of Morocco, India, Japan, China and Turkey, without being particularly faithful to any of them, the décor celebrates intricate design and detail. The front entry hall has breathtaking, Moroccan-ish designs — but painted, rather than inlaid — on the walls, staircase and ceiling.
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Visit the Billiard Room where Twain did his writing and see the bed carved with angels where he slept. Collections include some 50,000 items belonging to the author and his family. Their other two daughters, Susy and Jean, had stayed behind during this time, and Susy died at home on August 18, 1896, of spinal meningitis before the family could be reunited. They could not bring themselves to reside in the house after this tragedy and spent most of their remaining years living abroad. While it is also a house museum, the Stowe Center is focused on engaging its visitors in talking about social change. But here in Hartford is a wonderful chimera of a house, surmounted by Elizabethan chimneys and dotted with balconies.
It’s as concise and as good a summary of his life as you could hope. Note here, the patterned rounded brick part of the house surrounded by the horizontal, vertical, and triangular geometric patterns of the wooden porch—an appealing visual contrast of textures and shapes. Here’s a look at my visit to the Mark Twain House in the summer of 2016. My thanks to Deb Cohen for assisting with my visit, and to Steve Courtney and his book The Loveliest Home That Ever Was for the information in the captions below.
Patterned Brick - Mark Twain House
His public speeches followed suit and included a harshly sarcastic public introduction of Winston Churchill in 1900. Even though Sam’s lecture tour had managed to get him out of debt‚ his anti-government writings and speeches threatened his livelihood once again. As Sam was labeled by some as a traitor‚ several of his works were never published during his lifetime, either because magazines would not accept them or because of his own personal fear that his marketable reputation would be ruined. Samuel Clemens was born on November 30‚ 1835 in Florida‚ Missouri‚ the sixth of seven children. At age 4‚ Sam and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal‚ Missouri‚ on the banks of the Mississippi River.
He got a big break in 1865, when one of his tales about life in a mining camp, "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog," was printed in newspapers and magazines around the country (the story later appeared under various titles). John Clemens worked as a storekeeper, lawyer, judge and land speculator, dreaming of wealth but never achieving it, sometimes finding it hard to feed his family. He was an unsmiling fellow; according to one legend, young Sam never saw his father laugh. Carolyn Kellogg is a prize-winning writer who served as Books editor of the Los Angeles Times for three years. In 2019, she was a judge of the National Book Award in Nonfiction.
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The first floor of the historic structure is wheelchair accessible. The Webster Bank Museum Center at the Mark Twain House & museum is fully wheelchair accessible. While we are excited to welcome more visitors into what Mark Twain called “the loveliest home that ever was,” our priority is the health and safety of our visitors, our local community, and our entire Museum staff. Edward Tuckerman Potter's patterns of brick in 1874 are not unique to the Mark Twain House. Yet the design continues to astonish visitors to staid Hartford, Connecticut, long known as "the insurance capital of the world." This first floor room of the Hartford, Connecticut home was a kind of family room, where Samuel Clemens would entertain his family and guests with his famous stories.
Hired by the Alta California to continue his travel writing from the east‚ Sam arrived in New York City in 1867. It was also on this trip that Clemens met his future brother-in-law‚ Charles Langdon. Langdon reportedly showed Sam a picture of his sister‚ Olivia‚ and Sam fell in love at first sight. In search of a new career‚ Sam headed west in July 1861‚ at the invitation of his brother‚ Orion‚ who had just been appointed secretary of the Nevada Territory. Lured by the infectious hope of striking it rich in Nevada’s silver rush‚ Sam traveled across the open frontier from Missouri to Nevada by stagecoach.
For many years, Twain's relationship with middle daughter Clara was distant and full of quarrels. But while those years were gilded with awards, they also brought him much anguish. Early in their marriage, he and Livy had lost their toddler son, Langdon, to diphtheria; in 1896, his favorite daughter, Susy, died at the age of 24 of spinal meningitis. The loss broke his heart, and adding to his grief, he was out of the country when it happened. In 1889, Twain published A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, a science-fiction/historical novel about ancient England.
After courting for two years‚ Sam Clemens and Olivia (Livy) Langdon were married in 1870. They settled in Buffalo‚ New York‚ where Sam had become a partner‚ editor, and writer for the daily newspaper the Buffalo Express. While they were living in Buffalo‚ their first child‚ Langdon Clemens‚ was born. For more information, or to join or renew as a library member, please email The Library Membership application may be found here.
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