MARK TWAIN IN ELMIRA
Today, the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies is responsible for the Octagonal Study where Twain wrote (and now located on the Elmira College campus), as well as the Quarry Farm property, where the Clemens family spent more than twenty summers.
We are also committed to promoting the unique history of the city and region which Twain chose to make both his writing retreat and permanent resting place. Below you will find a collection of resources that explore this rich history.
THE GOSPEL OF REVOLT IN ELMIRA
C19: America In The Nineteenth Century Podcast (Also Available via The American Vandal Podcast Feed)
In this episode of the podcast hosted by The Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists, Dr. Matt Seybold provides an audio-tour of Park Church, Woodlawn Cemetery, and other important Elmira landmarks with the aid of Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actor, Hal Holbrook.
As a resident of Elmira, Mark Twain would come in contact with stationmasters and conductors on the Underground Railroad, Women’s Rights activists, radical theologians, prison reformists, and philanthrocapitalists. Many prominent citizens from Elmira were on the cutting edge of the political and social movements which came to define U.S. history during Twain’s lifetime.
150 Years of Mark Twain in Elmira: Dickens Holidays, The Gospel of Revolt, & The Quarry Farm Style
Mark Twain in Elmira: A Short Film
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This 15-minute mini-documentary was produced for 2021 Summer Orientation at Elmira College. It offers a concise introduction to the historical connections between Mark Twain, his extended family, and the Elmira community.
“‘A Caring Man’: Remembering John W. Jones and Mark Twain in Elmira”
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Jillian Spivey Caddell tells the history of a vital member of Elmira’s Underground Railroad community, John W. Jones. Born into slavery, Jones escaped and proceeded to assist in the freedom of over 800 people. During the Civil War, Jones meticulously buried hundreds of Confederate soldiers at Elmira’ Woodlawn National Cemetery.
“One of the Best Men I Have Ever Known”: Mark Twain’s Friendship with Rev. Thomas K. Beecher
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Dwane Eutsey discusses the life of one of Elmira’s most famous historical figures, Thomas. K. Beecher. Mark Twain was profoundly impressed with this man of faith and long time leader of The Park Church
Silent Work in Elmira: Letters From The Wilbur H. Siebert Underground Railroad Collection
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Thanks to the Ohio History Connection and the Chemung County Historical Society, we are able to share some letters written by Susan Crane and John W. Jones to a historian working on a book about the Underground Railroad.
Mark Twain in Elmira (2nd Ed., 2013)
First produced by Robert D. Jerome and Herbert A. Wisbey in 1977, then substantially revised by CMTS Director Barbara Snedecor, Mark Twain in Elmira contains both primary and secondary sources, photographs, and various appendices related to Twain’s life in Elmira.
The Courtship of Sam & Livy
Elmira Girl Marries Hannibal Boy (And The Rest is Literary History)
[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
Susan K. Harris, author of The Courtship of Olivia Langdon & Mark Twain, provides a spirited summary of their romance on the occasion of their 150th Wedding Anniversary.
MARK TWAIN LOVESICK AT CHIRSTMAS
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Matt Seybold focuses on a holiday letter Twain wrote to his fiancé in which he makes a portentous promise.
Sam & Livy Clemens: Married & Buried in Elmira
[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
A brief summary of Twain’s description of the wedding in his Autobiography also features a high-quality image of the marriage certificate courtesy of Chemung County Historical Society.
150 Years Ago Mark Twain Celebrated New Years Eve By Debating How Drunk He Had Been During The Preceding Year & Listening to Charles Dickens Read David Copperfield With His Future Wife
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Dr. Seybold’s account of Sam and Livy’s first date.
A VIRTUAL TOUR OF MARK’S ELMIRA
Interactive Map of 1901 Elmira
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This interactive map introduces a series of landmarks and community members affiliated with Twain and his extended family.
Interactive Map of Woodlawn Cemetery
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Mark Twain and most of his extended family are buried in the Langdon-Clemens plot at Woodlawn Cemetery. The Center for Mark Twain Studies has created a geo-located map of Woodlawn which also features short bios of many of the prominent Elmirans buried there.
Drinking with Twain: A Rare Manuscript
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The Center for Mark Twain Studies has digitized this copy of a rare manuscript which circulated in the 1930s and features firsthand accounts of the social culture of Elmira during Twain’s life. Matt Seybold provides a detailed discussion of the manuscripts authors and subjects.
Mark Twain’s Father-in-Law’s Monopoly: A Brief History of the J. Langdon Coal Company
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We published a 2017 talk by Thomas Reigstad which traces the development of Jervis Langdon’s sometimes controversial company, the headquarters of which was located in downtown Elmira.
The Park Church Culture Into Which Mark Twain Married
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In his introduction to a 2019 performance of “Mark Twain’s Music Box” at the Park Church, Dr. Seybold provides an overview of religious institution which the Langdon family founded.
Emancipation Day, 1880 (Frederick Douglass in Elmira)
The Lessons of Emancipation To The New Generation
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In 2021, Matt Seybold reconstructed Frederick Douglass’s speech from the original manuscript at the Library of Congress and newspaper transcriptions based on missing portions of the manuscript. You can read the speech and view the original sources here.
Even if He Weren’t My Friend: Frederick Douglass & Mark Twain
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Was Mark Twain in the audience for Douglass’s speech? Dr. Seybold assembles evidence from variety of archives while also surveying the Douglass-Twain relationship which dates back at least to 1869, as well as Douglass’s relationship with the Langdon family, which dates back to when he was a fugitive.
The Fickle Affections of The Elmira Advertiser For Frederick Douglass
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When he visited Elmira in 1880, Douglass had a recent history of conflict with the city’s only daily newspaper. Yet somehow the editor of that paper ended up with part of the manuscript of Douglass’s Emancipation Day speech. Matt Seybold tries to unravel this mystery.
The Invisible Home of Frederick Douglass, John W. Jones, & Mark Twain
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A special 2021 Emancipation Week episode of The American Vandal Podcast brings together three scholars of 19th-century U.S. literature, all of whom have deep ties to the Southern Tier, to talk about the peculiar culture of the place Douglass, in his Emancipation Day speech, calls “home.”
QUARRY FARM
Virtual Tour of Quarry Farm
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While Quarry Farm remains an active residence, reserved for the production of Twain scholarship, with the help of SmallTown360 we have created a virtual tour of the entire house, as well as the grounds and the Langdon-Clemens gravesite.
Architectural History of Quarry Farm
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The most extensive document focusing on the architectural history of Quarry Farm. Written by Johnson-Schmidt & Associates, Architects, this report examines the developmental history of Quarry Farm, including historical background and context, chronology of development and use, physical description, character defining features, and an evaluation of its significance.
Landscape History of Quarry Farm
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The most extensive document focusing on the landscape history of Quarry Farm. Written by Martha Lyon Landscape Architects, LLC, this report includes a report on the Quarry Farm landscape in history, a historical chronology, photographs of existing conditions, and a bibliography for further reading and research.
Quarry Farm Historic Interiors and Furnishings
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Walter Ritchie, Jr., decorative arts scholar and architectural historian specializing in nineteenth-century American domestic architecture, interiors, and furniture, discusses the interiors and furnishings in the main house at Quarry Farm. Scholars from all corners of the United States and the globe have the opportunity to spend their time amongst this important collection.
“Mark Twain’s Summer Home”
READ IT HERE (external link)
An article from the New York Times (September 10, 1882) describing Quarry Farm, the Study, and the author’s writing routine.
The John T. Lewis Story: A Repeat Epistolary Performance
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In August 1877, a Black tenant farmer, saved several members of the extended family from a runaway carriage incident. Mark Twain was among the witnesses of this act of heroism and Lewis thereafter became one of his favorite local interlocutors, as well as a regular presence at Quarry Farm. In this essay from two scholars at the Mark Twain Project, we see how Twain first framed the story of Lewis’s introduction to the family for two sets of faraway friends.
Dispatches From Quarry Farm: A Tree Named Lewis
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As part of his series of occasional dispatches, Caretaker Steve Webb does his own accounting of the John T. Lewis legend, taking into consideration his own extensive experience with East Hill.
Thanksgiving at Quarry Farm, 1897
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Matt Seybold reverse engineers the recipes which went into a Thanksgiving menu created by Susan Crane in 1897.
Quarry Farm Carpet Leaves For Thirty Years, Goes To Turkey, & Comes Back Home
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Frances Millard traces the provenance and restoration of a carpet in the dining room which is older than the State of California.
Elmira Archaeology Students Explore Mystery Structure at Quarry Farm
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Led by Dr. Heidi Dierckx, students unearthed several artifacts from the era when the site was a working dairy farm.
HISTORY OF THE MARK TWAIN STUDY
house at Quarry Farm on a knoll overlooking the Chemung River Valley. In this octagonal building, Mark Twain wrote major portions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, The Prince and the Pauper, A Tramp Abroad, and many short pieces.
In 1952, the Mark Twain Study was moved from Quarry Farm to the Elmira College campus. The Study is staffed by trained student guides daily throughout the summer and by appointment in the off-season.
The Study being moved to Elmira College in 1952
