Mark Twain House: A Grand Home for an American Writer

Larger than life: Art that inspires us through the ages

The Mark Twain House’s main exterior architectural design feature, according to Society of Architectural Historians, is the extensive wood bracing of the gables, porch, and railings in what was known as “stick style.” Approaching the front of the home, visitors are struck by the conspicuous octagonal tower and the large wraparound porch. Red brick masonry is set off with a patterned, tricolor slate tile roof and four polychrome-brickwork chimneystacks. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Volumes have been written about the quintessentially American author who was inspired by his experience as a Mississippi riverboat pilot to choose the name by which he would pen his works. The term “mark twain,” a steamboat depth measurement, became Samuel Langhorne Clemens’s pseudonym, with which classic literary works such as “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Prince and the Pauper” were associated.

Although born in Florida, Missouri, Clemens moved to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1871 after his career as an author took off, because he was fond of the area. After renting a home for a time, Clemens and his wife, Olivia, enlisted well-known New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design in 1873 their 11,500-square-foot, 25-room dream home, where, not surprisingly, the library is central. It was here, with his wife and three children, that Mark Twain was most prolific.

However, the house was sold in 1903, primarily because of the family’s sadness about the death of their young adult daughter, Susy, from meningitis. The house changed owners several times before its formal restoration began in 1963, which was also the same year the Mark Twain House was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Society of Architectural Historians defines the overall style of the Mark Twain House as “High Victorian Gothic.” The Clemens family desired a uniquely visual residence, and it became one of architect Edward Tuckerman Potter’s most admired projects. Plenty of windows provide interior light and an opportunity to view the forested landscape, while an assortment of exterior covered and uncovered porches gave easy access to the outdoors. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Assistant Curator Mallory Howard explained that the elaborate walnut woodwork in the front hall is signature Potter style; he was widely known as a church/cathedral architect. “A member of Associated Artists (the interior design firm of Louis C. Tiffany & Company), Lockwood de Forest, did additional detailed wood work (e.g., the front hall fireplace),” Howard said. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Nineteenth-century New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter, who specialized in church designs, was responsible for the elaborate wood molding design in the Mark Twain House entryway and stairwell. The artistic and lofty solid-wood star patterns are juxtaposed with a decorative wall treatment background to achieve a stunning effect. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Not surprising is the fact that the Clemens’s library was a centerpiece of the elaborate home. Approximately 1,200 books are shelved in the lavishly carved bookcases. The room is outfitted with comfortable upholstery, including a daybed, and bedecked with original art, most of which was not owned by the Clemens family but is similar to paintings of the time period that they would have owned. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Standing in the wide, well-lit library, in front of the to-the-ceiling wood-carved mantel, Samuel Clemens often recited to friends and family poetry, stories, and excerpts from his latest works. Sumptuous tufted velvet chairs invited readers to grab a book and stay awhile. The brass plate at the bottom of the mantel and above the fireplace is a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

The Clemens family enjoyed motifs influenced by worldly designs, such as the East Indian motifs stenciled on the salmon-hued walls and ceilings in the home’s drawing room. Far different from the home’s other rooms that sport decoratively carved woods, this formal entertaining space is apportioned with the family’s tufted furnishings, such as the large curved silk damask sofa. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Besides the ornately tiled fireplace and walls covered in an embossed paper of red and gold, the dramatic focal-point feature in the dining room is the Victorian Aesthetic-Movement sideboard (circa 1875). The large piece is actually in two parts: an upper section with three shelves that have columnar supports and a central closed cabinet resting on a lower section with three drawers and a recessed central cabinet. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House

Although it's referred to as the “billiard room,” this was most often used by Clemens as his study. Howard said that “as an avid player, Sam would have protected the playing surface of the table, especially as he frequently used it as a supplemental work surface.” The ceiling of the room is adorned with the top of a billiard table, and light streams into the space. A traditional brass lighting fixture hangs over the billiard table. Courtesy of the Mark Twain House