How to Tour Mark Twain's Hartford, Connecticut House

By the early 1870s Samuel Langhorne Clemens—Mark Twain—was one of the most famous men in America. He was wealthy, happily married and a doting father. All he needed was a mansion to reflect his status in society. He found a lot in Nook Farm, a literary neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut and hired New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design him a lavish and whimsical house that is now one of America's finest examples of Victorian domestic architecture. The Twain house has three floors, nineteen rooms and five bathrooms--unheard of in 1874, when the house was completed. It has polychrome brick walls and polychrome slate roofs. With its towers, porches, balconies, jutting bay windows and chimney stacks it vaguely resembles the Mississippi River steamboats Twain once piloted. Passers-by often referred to the house as "Mark Twain's Practical Joke."

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Entrance is through a porte-cochere. To the left is a large, shady porch Twain called the "Ombra." Straight ahead is the marble-floored entry hall. This hall used to be smaller, with a reception room to the left, just inside the door, but the house was expanded and renovated in 1881, with redecoration by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his "Associated Artists" firm. The living room, to the right of the hall, was often the site of Clemens family theatricals. Its walls and ceiling arecovered with gold, silver and pink stenciling. Behind the living room is the dining room. Its most unique feature is a fireplace with a window over it and the flues diverted to either side. This was so in the winter Twain could watch flames and falling snowflakes at the same time. A semi-circular pantry leads to the kitchen and servants wing. This runs parallel to the main block of the house instead of behind it. Twain wanted this arrangement so his servants could watch passing parades from the kitchen windows. Next to the dining room is the library, the heart of the home, where the family spent most of its time. A semi-circular conservatory with fountain takes up the southern end. The chief feature of the room is an elaborately-carved mantelpiece.When Twain sold the home he took this mantelpiece with him, later installing it in his final home, "Stormfield." Stormfield burned after Twain's death, but someone managed to save the mantelpiece. For years it sat in a barn covered with bird droppings, but it was finally rediscovered and returned to the Hartford house during its renovation in the 1970s. The last major room on the first floor is a guest room, complete with dressing room, bathroom and shower.
2. The second floor consists of a guest room that was often occupied by Mrs. Clemens' mother, servants rooms, Susy Clemens' room and the room shared by Clara and Jean Clemens. The schoolroom had been designated as Twain's study, but he found the view too distracting. The master bedroom is dominated by a huge Venetian bed. Twain took this bed to all his later residences and died in it in 1910. He also did a great deal of writing there. It is from one of the windows of this room that Twain threw all his shirts, after he found one missing a button.
3. The third floor has a huge octagonal balcony, known as the "Texas deck" after a the officers deck at the top of a steamboat. There is also a servants room and storage room. Twain spent most of his time up here in the billiard room, writing and, naturally, playing billiards—a game with which he was obsessed. The room's wallpaper even includes designs of crossed cue sticks and racks of billiard balls. There is a guest room next door so Twain's drunken male friends could sleep it off and not have to negotiate the stairs. All in all, a very well-planned residence. Elsewhere on the grounds, behind the Twain carriage house and built partially underground, is a state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly museum and visitors center that was opened in 2003. It includes a store, café, terrace, restrooms, classrooms, auditorium, exhibition gallery, archives and library.

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