Trip to Mark Twain’s House

We happened to be in Connecticut this weekend, so we thought a nice side trip would be to Mark Twain’s House in Hartford. We wanted to visit the house, but didn’t have a chance before now. While the neighborhood around the famous attraction is not the best, the house itself is magnificent. The house, built by money from his in-laws, designed by Livy Clemens and architect Edward Tuckerman Potter and decorated by Louis C. Tiffany & Co. The huge home has 25 rooms, 3 floors and over 11,000 square feet.

Before the tour we visited the museum, currently it is about Twain’s daughters. Our kids got to play dress up, like the family and look at many interesting artifacts (dresses, books, etc.) and learn about the family in general.

The kids were impressed with the Mark Twain Lego statue, and Daddy was impressed with a cool statue featuring characters from Twain’s books (Twain and his characters model).

Click on image to view large image
Click to view legend
Click to view key

 

We opted for the Living History Tour with the maid Lizzie Wills, which was a great choice. The costumed member was both entertaining and knowledgeable, answering questions and making history come alive with household gossip and history. We also got a special visit to the basement to see the kitchen and laundry rooms, take some pictures (which you cannot in the rest of the house) and have a great experience.