He was known as the “Greatest Humorist the
United States Has Produced,” But how did he live? Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to "ThisHouse"
Today we are exploring the home of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain in Hartford
Connecticut. Make sure to hit that subscribe button so
you never miss an exciting episode of "ThisHouse". To better understand the charming and whimsical
characteristics of Mark Twain’s house, we need to first understand the life he came
from. In 1835, As Halley’s Comet sored overhead
in the night sky, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, though he would become better known as Mark
Twain, was born in a small Midwest river town, growing up in Hannibal, Missouri. His father provided the family with a good
income, working as a judge and as an attorney, but he passed away when Samuel was only 11
years old. This prompted his decision to drop out of
school while in the 5th grade to start working. His brother, Orion, gave him a job at his
newspaper company, The Hannibal Journal, working as his typesetter, placing each individual
letter or glyph in place to stamp the morning paper. In his free time, he found himself at the
library, reading books about anything and everything. By the time he was 18, he began traveling
around the major cities of the US working as a printer. His young adulthood was filled with adventure
and opportunity. He traveled to St. Louis, Missouri where he
met Steamboat Pilot, Horace E Bixby who taught Samuel how to navigate the mighty Mississippi
all the way down to New Orleans. While on the river, he adapted the Pen Name,
Mark Twain inspired by the pilot’s jargon. He had a lot of fun voyaging up and down the
river, returning to St. Louis where he would spend long nights drinking and smoking cigars
in the seedy sofas of the Old Rock House. But the good times did not roll, In 1861 the
Civil War broke out and he had to choose a side. Missouri was a split state, but his good paying
job as a steamboat pilot took him down south, so he sided with the confederate army, but
only for 2 weeks. Escaping conflict, he reconnected with his
brother Orion who was now the secretary of the Nevada Territory. He hopped on a stagecoach and spent the next
two weeks slowly traveling to Virginia City, Nevada. A trek which inspired part of his later book,
Roughing It. He went to work as a miner, trying his luck
at uncovering silver or gold where the Comstock lode was discovered, but his attempts were
fruitless so he pivoted his career to journalism, working for a local newspaper. He was a natural at it. He began writing comical and satirical columns. He moved to san Francisco to further his career,
where he wrote “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County which gained him national
attention. Soon enough, he was being sent around the
world, first to Hawaii and then all around Europe and the Middle East. While traveling abroad, he met a fellow American
by the name of Charles Langdon. The two hit it off with a wonderful conversation
and Charles decided to show Samuel a picture of his sister, Olivia. It was love at first site, Samuel had to meet
her. After getting to know her, he proposed, but
she rejected him. Samuel waited some time, then popped the question
again, and she said yes. The young couple set out on their first adventure
together, moving to Hartford, Connecticut. They fell in love with the town, and decided
to settle down here. They rented a house known as Nook Farm, and
within a couple years decided to build their own dream home. Though Samuel was now a successful author
and journalist, Olivia had come from a very wealthy family, so she was able to foot the
bill for an opulent estate. In 1873, They hired Architect, Edward Tuckerman
Potter to design for them a rambling mansion at the height of Victorian fashion. The house was a combination of Carpenter Gothic
and Queen Anne and has sometimes been referred to as Stick Style. Though it has never been confirmed, some have
claimed that the house was designed as a nod to Samuel’s love for the river, with it’s
enlarged bay windows resembling the likeness of a Steam Boat. Entering the home through a large wooden door,
you would arrive in the entrance hall. The floors were laid in a dotted herringbone
pattern below hand stenciled walls which had been designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and
Company. Following the geometric ceilings directly
ahead, the stairs flared out around an oversized master newel post run with artisan carved
balustrade broken up by solid wood Solomonic columns at each turn. On the other wall was a hand carved fireplace
mantle with heavy relief work. To the side was an ornately decorated bifold
door opening from the entrance hall into the drawing room. Turning around, the drawing room welcomed
guests for parties with live music. The walls were hand stenciled with silver
and salmon paint which glistened in during the day as sunlight poured in through the
oversized bay window. Sitting opposite the bay window was a modest,
but classically inspired hearth centered on a crystal chandelier which had been suspended
from a plaster medallion, all reflected in a pier mirror hung between the two front facing
windows. Joined to the drawing room was the dining
room, sitting further back in the house, The walls were finished out with walnut wainscotting
run below gold and red hand stenciled lilies Continuing through the opening to the side,
we will pass between curtains to arrive in the library. The room was surrounded in half height book
shelves, but the centerpiece was an antique Scottish fireplace mantle with the inscription,
“The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” We can imagine Mark Twain standing in front
of the fireplace, reading poetry to his friends late into the evening. This room opened into the conservatory which
featured a low lying fountain surrounded by exotic plants. Their daughters were known to spend a lot
of time playing here and had their own special name for the observatory, they called it “The
Jungle.” Heading upstairs now, we arrive at the second
floor stair landing where we can begin to explore the bedrooms. Rare for the time, Samuel and Olivia shared
the same bedroom with a hand carved wood bedframe which they had acquired while visiting Venice,
Italy. Their daughter, Susy’s room was a more relaxed
room for a teenager with photos cluttering the walls and a boudoir for doing her makeup. The guest room on this floor was decorated
in light colors with the textiles featuring floral patterns complimenting the hand stenciled
ceilings. Facing the stairs was the School Room, where
their daughters would be educated by a governess at home, something that was common for wealthy
families at the time. Going up to the third floor, exposed trusses
meet with the geometric ceiling treatment overhead, framing a tapestry which concealed
a balcony above the stairs. To one end was the billiards room with large
windows overlooking the property. Of all the luxurious and whimsical interiors,
the house had a sophistication about it which offered more modern conveniences. It contained several bathrooms during a time
when indoor plumbing was considered incredibly rare. The bedrooms even had dressing rooms in a
time when closets were virtually unheard of. Mark Twain wrote about the house, “To us,
our house was not unsentient matter — it had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see us
with; and approvals, and solicitudes, and deep sympathies; it was of us, and we were
in its confidence, and lived in its grace and in the peace of its benediction. We never came home from an absence that its
face did not light up and speak out its eloquent welcome — and we could not enter it unmoved.” But the house would not be home for them forever. Throughout his adult life, Samuel had a made
a ton of terrible financial decisions, investing money in companies and products that didn’t
perform as he had hoped. In 1891, he moved with his wife to Europe
searching for more opportunity. Their daughter Susy stayed home to keep an
eye on the house, but she tragically died in the home while they were abroad. When they returned, the home they once loved
felt cursed to them and they left it abandoned until 1903 when they finally found a buyer. Olivia passed away the following year in 1904. Samuel Clemens had often touted that he was
born under Halley’s Comet and would die under it. Strangely enough, in 1910, Halley’s Comet
returned and he had a fatal heart attack the following day. The house went on to be used as a school,
then a library. By 1929, much needed maintenance on the home
had been largely neglected and it began to fall into disrepair. That’s when it was purchased by the newly
formed Mark Twain Memorial. Over the years, with dozens of fundraising
efforts, the house was brought back to life, being fully restored with much of the family’s
original furnishings and belongings filling the home. Currently, The Mark Twain House and Museum
is open for guided tours throughout the year where visitors can immerse themselves in the
life and livelihood of one of America’s Greatest Authors. Which room was your favorite? Let me know down below in the Comments Section. And while you’re there, make sure to hit
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