10 Facts About Mark Twain House

1.

Mark Twain House faced serious financial trouble in 2008 due partly to construction cost overruns related to the new visitors' center, but the museum was helped through publicity about their plight, quick reaction from the state of Connecticut, corporations, and other donors, and a benefit performance organized by writers.

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2.

Also in 2012, the Mark Twain House was named one of the Ten Best Historic Homes in the world in The Ten Best of Everything, a National Geographic Books publication.

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3.

Mark Twain first came to Hartford in 1868 while writing The Innocents Abroad in order to work with publisher Elisha Bliss, Jr.

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4.

Mark Twain House moved into a substantial home in Buffalo, New York after marrying Olivia Langdon; however, he considered moving to a more opulent house in Hartford within two years, partly to be closer to his publisher.

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5.

Mark Twain House was designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter, an architect from New York City.

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6.

Mark Twain House was fascinated with new technologies, leading to the installation of an early telephone.

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7.

Mark Twain House went bankrupt in 1894, leaving Twain with a large amount of debt; Paige's typesetting machine never functioned properly and was overcome by competition from the linotype machine developed by Whitelaw Reid.

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8.

Mark Twain House began lecturing across the continent to recoup some money for their family.

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9.

Admission to the Mark Twain House is by guided tour only; tours are organized around various themes.

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10.

Mark Twain House underwent a major renovation starting in 1999, including work on the exterior wood, tile, and terra cotta brick, and rebuilding the purple slate roofs.

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