Strategic Plan 2025-2027

Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies Strategic Plan 2025-2027

Programming & Outreach

• Successfully continued the Quarry Farm Fellowship program. CMTS hosted and aided the research of thirteen senior and developing scholars, writers, and artists from a variety of academic disciplines.  All of these fellows-in-residence had the opportunity to live and work at Quarry Farm for two weeks to a month and take advantage of one of the best libraries dedicated to Mark Twain Studies located on the premises.

• Facilitated The Eleventh Quarry Farm Symposium “Gilded Ages: Humor, Literature, and ” This event focused on a wide range of subjects related to numerous aspects related to the Gilded Age, including literary humor; political cartoons; social satire; periodical humor; visual arts; contemporary representations of the Gilded Age; gender, race, class and Gilded Age Humor; nationalism and transnationalism; and Mark Twain. The keynote address was presented by Nathan Wolff, Associate Professor at Tufts University and author of Not Quite Hope and Other Political Emotions in the Gilded Age (Oxford University Press, 2019).  A special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Studies in American Humor will focus on the proceedings from the event.  of All talks were video recorded and made accessible on the CMTS YouTube Channel and MarkTwainStudies.org.

• Published 27 lectures to CMTS’s YouTube Channel from 2023 events, including the Eleventh Quarry Farm Symposium “Gilded Ages: Humor, Literature, and Society;” The Spring and Fall Trouble Begins Lectures; and the Park Church Summer Lectures. All of these have also been added to The Trouble Begins Archives.

• Created four new Twain Studies Resource Pages, including one on Samuel Clemens himself, created by Gary Scharnhorst, the author of the recent three-volume The Life of Mark Twain.

• Released sixteen episodes of The American Vandal It remains one of the 5% most- downloaded podcasts in the world, with listenership growing by over 80% in 2024 according to Spotify.

• Facilitated the Mark Twain Summer Teachers Institute at Quarry Farm for local art teachers, focusing on watercolor landscape and plein air painting. and first published in 1899.

• Assisted the Chemung County Historical Society with the creation of a temporary exhibit focusing on the Langdon Mansion.  The exhibit will feature furniture and paintings currently residing at Quarry Farm.

Administrative, Financial, and Physical Resources

• Installed most of a fire suppression system and early fire/smoke warning system in the main house of Quarry Farm
• Restored the second-floor sleeping porch in the main house at Quarry Farm.
• Obtained a microscopy analysis of the original interior and exterior finishes of the Mark Twain Study.
• Purchased and installed a washer/dryer combo machine for Quarry Farm resident’s use
• Assisted the Quarry Farm Foundation in raising over $800,000 since 2022.
• Successfully obtained a $20,000 grant from the Tianaderrah Foundation for the restoration of the Mark Twain Study.
• Successfully obtained a $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes for two projects at Quarry Farm.

The CMTS Staff wished to follow up and continue last year’s success

The CMTS Strategic Planning Committee includes:

• Kathleen Galvin, Center for Mark Twain Studies Collections Manager;
• Dr. Larry Howe, Professor Emeritus of English and Film Studies at Roosevelt University;
• Elise Johnson-Schmidt, Principal Architect and Owner of Johnson-Schmidt & Associates, Architects;
• Dr. Joseph Lemak, Director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies;
• Dr. Matt Seybold, Associate Professor of American Literature and Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College and Editor-in – Chief of MarkTwainStudies.org;
• Steve Webb, Quarry Farm Caretaker;
• Alexander Whydell, Quarry Farm Preservation Associate and Historic Preservationist at Johnson-Schmidt & Associates.

• Dr. Charles Lindsay, President at Elmira College;
• Dr. Patricia Ireland, Provost at Elmira College.

Any questions about the CMTS 2025-2027 Strategic Plan should be directed to Dr. Joseph Lemak jl****@****ra.edu

Organizational History

The Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies is known and respected world-wide as one of the premier sites for the research and study of Mark Twain.  Following a long tradition of associations between Mark Twain, the Langdon family, and Elmira College, CMTS was established in 1983 with the gift of Quarry Farm to Elmira College from Samuel Clemens’s great-grandnephew, Jervis Langdon, Jr.

Clemens’s connection to the Langdon family began in 1867.  In that year he secured funding from the Alta California newspaper to travel to the Europe and the Middle East and write about his journey. On June 8th, Clemens, who was by then already known by his “Mark Twain” pen name, left New York City aboard a steamship named Quaker City. The series of letters he wrote between then and his return on November 19th, were later immortalized in 1869 as Mark Twain’s first book The Innocents Abroad. This hugely successful work brought Twain fame and fortune, and was the best-selling of his books during his lifetime.

The professional significance of this voyage was matched by a personal one.  On board the Quaker City, Clemens met Charles Langdon, the brother of Clemens’ future wife. The Langdons were a wealthy Elmira, New York family, and the eighteen-year-old “Charley” Langdon had been sent by his father Jervis to the Mediterranean in order to gain worldly perspective. Despite the age difference between Charley and the thirty-one-year-old Sam Clemens, the two became friends. One day aboard the Quaker City, Charley Langdon felt compelled by homesickness to show Clemens a miniature portrait of his sister Olivia.

After the Quaker City returned to New York, Charles Langdon introduced Clemens to his father and sister in person. As the story goes, Clemens fell in love with Olivia at that first meeting. Clemens travelled to the West Coast for business soon after, but in August of 1868 followed up on an invitation to visit the Langdon family, arriving in Elmira by train. He was smitten with “Livy,” and, after two rebuffed marriage proposals and hundreds of letters between the couple, Samuel Clemens and Olivia Langdon were married in Elmira in 1870.

Portrait of Susan Langdon Crane (1836-1924)

Image courtesy of the Elmira College Mark Twain Archive

Portrait of Ida Langdon (1880-1964)

Professor of English Literature at Elmira College (1920-1942)

Image courtesy of the Elmira College Mark Twain Archive

Image of Jervis Langdon, Jr. (1905-2004)

Image courtesy of Elmira College Mark Twain Archive

Finally, CMTS houses some of its Twain material in the Mark Twain Archive on the Elmira College campus. The Mark Twain Archive affords scholars the uniquely rewarding experience of ready access to a collection of primary and secondary sources on Twain. In addition to various editions of Twain’s works, the Mark Twain Archive collection includes photographs; books from Twain’s personal library and the library at Quarry Farm; secondary source books, articles, and collections related to Mark Twain, his literature, and his circle; and microfilm letters and manuscripts from the Mark Twain collections at the Bancroft library in Berkeley, the Mark Twain Memorial in Hartford, Vassar College, and the Huntington Library. Through the generosity of donors over the years, the collection has also a fine collection of Mark Twain titles in over a dozen languages other than English, the Love Collection of framed photographs and autographs, correspondence between Twain and members of his Elmira circle, such as E.M. Van Aken, Dr. Frank Darby, and Julia Jones Beecher, letters written by Twain at the end of his life, and other photographs and memorabilia that add greatly to the scope and interest of the collection. The Mark Twain Archive itself also includes a collection of decorative art such as period furnishings, rich woodwork, and marble accents from Klapproth’s Tavern, an establishment which Twain was known to frequent during his summers in Elmira. The Mark Twain Archive is available to anyone with a research project that can be served by the collection.

The Center for Mark Twain Studies represents one of four Mark Twain “centers” in the United States that include Mark Twain’s boyhood home in Hannibal, MO; Twain’s home in Hartford, CT; and the Mark Twain Project in Berkeley, CA. However, CMTS is unique in its mission to foster and support scholarship and pedagogy related to all aspects of Mark Twain.

[1] “The Four Party Agreement Regarding Quarry Farm, Elmira, N.Y.,” December 31, 1982. Legal Contract involving Jervis Langdon, Jr., Elmira College, The National Historic Trust, and Chemung County Historical Society, (1983): 2-3

Significance of The Quarry Farm Collection

Quarry Farm, on the U.S. Register of Historic Places, remains today much as it did when Mark Twain resided at Quarry Farm, containing original 19th century furnishings, artwork, textiles, books, wall finishes, and architectural features and objects that have historic and cultural significance that continue to be unraveled by scholarship.  At the time of the Langdon gift in 1983, Quarry Farm had been owned by four generations of the Langdon family, starting in 1868. The books on the shelves in the library contain marginal notes and markings from Mark Twain with bookplates and inscriptions of the Langdon family, the Crane family, and Ida Langdon, Sam Clemens’s niece.  While the collection was established with the original gift, it is not static.  The CMTS continues, on occasion, to receive books bearing the Langdon bookplate or books inscribed by Langdon family members.  Interest in the marginalia and books to which Mark Twain had access has long interested scholars.  A nineteenth century furniture expert, Walter Ritchie, Jr., has recently published his research about the furnishings of the Langdon Mansion in downtown Elmira, and established that a number of the Langdon furnishings were moved to Quarry Farm before the home was demolished in 1939.

The collection also contains a number of reference works, first editions, and other rare books which are hard to find outside university libraries and special collections. For many fellows-in-residence, this may be the first time they have had access to such resources. Few scholars at any career stage have the opportunity to peruse such materials at their leisure over the course of several weeks, all without leaving the quiet, private, and picturesque domestic space in which many, starting with Twain himself, have found the ideal conditions for writing.  Current residents share the same spectacular view of the Chemung River Valley as the famous author, his family, and his in-laws.  Many scholars believe that contemplating this view and watching his young daughters play and grow up at Quarry Farm inspired Twain to write about parts of his childhood on the Mississippi River that resulted in the creation of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, America’s most iconic characters of childhood.  Not surprisingly, Twain scholars continue to be struck by the Quarry Farm setting, still peaceful and conducive to relaxation and to work, with a view of the surrounding hills, the Chemung River, and the city of Elmira below, much like it must have been almost one hundred and fifty years ago.

The collections at Quarry Farm provide fellows-in-residence full access to a world-selection of primary and secondary sources related to nineteenth century United States literature and history while offering them a unique, and at times inspirational, experience of living in the same space, and perhaps partaking the same daily routine, as Twain himself.  Between sixteen and twenty scholars are in residence every year, either as Quarry Farm Fellows or contributors to the various CMTS lecture series.  More than half of the residents stay for a period of two weeks.  These residents represent a wide range of demographic and disciplinary backgrounds and come from across the country and the globe.

Due to Quarry Farm’s unique ambiance and ideal writing environment, scholars have made a practice of acknowledging their residencies in their publications, often stating that Quarry Farm was as inspirational for them as it was for Twain.  Judith Yaross Lee, author of Twain’s Brand: Humor in Contemporary American Culture (2012, University Press of Mississippi), admits to being at times overwhelmed by “what I found on the shelves in the library at Quarry Farm.” Joseph B. Fulton extends his gratitude when he states, “I would like to thank Jervis Langdon, Jr., and his family, whose generosity has done so much for our understanding of Mark Twain” in Mark Twain in the Margins: The Quarry Farm Marginalia and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (2000, University of Alabama Press). Shelley Fisher Fishkin in Lighting Out for The Territory: Reflections on Mark Twain & American Culture (1997, Oxford University Press), calls Quarry Farm a “haven for scholars.”   Paula Harrington and Ronald Jenn point out that “as all scholars know, no better place exists than Clemens’s own family summer home, Quarry Farm, in Elmira, New York.  We cannot imagine how we would have completed our book without repeated stays there as fellows-in-residence” in Mark Twain and France (2017, University of Missouri Press). In The Courtship of Mark Twain Olivia Langdon (1996, Cambridge University Press), Susan K. Harris writes that “most important is my debt to Quarry Farm itself.  One of the scholars’ few perks is the occasional chance to actually live in a historical house, and I know that I speak for the Twain community when I say that staying at Quarry Farm has been among the most moving experiences of my life.”

Without a hint of exaggeration, CMTS and Quarry Farm have been acknowledged in scores of book-length publications, most from university presses, along with dozens of peer-reviewed academic articles.  CMTS continues this proud tradition in the present-day with fellows and lecturers already scheduled for 2023.  All biographies and projects Quarry Farm Fellows can be found at MarkTwainStudies.org.

 Testimonials from recent Quarry Farm residents, detailing their time at Quarry Farm and its importance to the scholarly and creative writing community can be found at the Quarry Farm Testimonial page on MarkTwainStudies.org

Staff Biographies

Joseph Lemak
Joseph Lemak, an Elmira native, became the Director of CMTS in January 2016. He also holds the title of Assistant Professor of History at Elmira College. He served Elmira College in various roles for over twenty years, most recently as Director of the Academic Writing Program and the Writing Center. Joe holds a Ph.D. in Classics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He organizes the Quarry Farm Fellowships, all CMTS lecture series, the annual symposia, the quadrennial International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies, and the Summer Teachers’ Institute. Joe oversees all financial and budgetary matters, fund raising, grant writing, strategic planning, and the preservation and maintenance efforts of the Mark Twain Study and Quarry Farm.

Charles Mitchell
Charles Mitchell started his career at Elmira College in August 1993. Over the years he has taught a wide variety of courses in American history and culture, including courses in environmental history, landscape art, and photography, and the social and cultural history of American art and visual culture. He has published a book on the legacy of Ralph Waldo Emerson and essays on a variety of topics, including Shakespeare’s responsibility for the most numerous invasive species in the United States. He lectures regularly on topics relating to public parks, landscape tourism, and the paradoxes and ironies of American attitudes toward nature. In 2019 he joined the staff of the Center for Mark Twain Studies.

Matt Seybold
Matt Seybold joined the Elmira College in July 2015. He earned his Ph.D. from University of California, Irvine in 2012 after which he worked at The University of Alabama. He teaches courses on all periods of American Literature, as well as interdisciplinary courses on mass media and economics. Upon hiring, Matt made the creation of a digital presence for the Center for Mark Twain Studies his highest priority and, with support from Director Lemak and Dr. Mitchell, oversaw the design and launch of MarkTwainStudies.org in October 2016. He sees the website as a repository for an evolving range of Twain-related resources, as well as a broader, more democratic means of serving CMTS’ unique mission.

Steve Webb
Steve Webb, an Elmira native, has been the resident caretaker at Quarry Farm since the winter of 2013. Steve is an experienced landscaper and repairman with an Associate degree in Environmental Science from Finger Lakes Community College, as well as a talented composer and musician. Steve is the direct supervisor of the groundskeepers and cleaning staff at Quarry Farm, as well as the CMTS on-site project manager for all Quarry Farm preservation projects. He serves as the direct liaison of CMTS to all Quarry Farm residents.

Foundation and Corporate Sponsors

(In alphabetical order)

Elmira College – Elmira College supports CMTS in a myriad of ways, including, but not limited to, office space, marketing, branding, library services, and internet access. All of these services are at no cost to CMTS.

Friends of the Center for Mark Twain Studies– The donation membership list for CMTS. Many members donate annually. The majority of donations come from an annual appeal in December or January.

Lilly Broadcasting WENY TV – A local, upstate New York television media group. This media outlet purchases books written by Mark Twain to support CMTS’s “Mark Twain Literacy Project.

Mark Twain Foundation – Annual support from the Mark Twain Foundation provides the major funding to support the activities of CMTS. This is largest and most consistent source of funding for CMTS.

Quarry Farm Foundation – An officially registered 501(3)(c) charitable organization approved by the Internal Revenue Service and New York State Charities Bureau. The primary purpose of the Quarry Farm Foundation is to raise funds for the preservation and maintenance of Quarry Farm.

U.S. Mint Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Fund– A restricted fund for CMTS. CMTS draws interest annually from the 2016 U.S. Mint Commemorative Mark Twain Coin program. The majority of this fund is used to support Quarry Farm preservation and scholarly production at Quarry Farm.

Additional Miscellaneous Funds – Small funds in memory of deceased individuals draw annual interest to support the Center for Mark Twain Studies, including the Darryl Baskin Fund, the Claude Brinegar Fund, the Class of ’34 Fund, The Pietrie Fund, and the Michael J. Kiskis Fund.

Strategic Goals

Reflecting its vision and mission statement, the Center for Mark Twain Studies has established the following strategic goals:

1. Enhance and sustain service to all constituents of CMTS
   1. Scholarly Community
   2. Internet Community
   3. Elmira College Community
2. Preserve the historical infrastructure of Quarry Farm, the Study, the Exhibit, and the Archives
3. Improve the Quarry Farm experience for all residents
4. Enhance and sustain the services and materials offered by the Mark Twain Archive to the academic community
5. Increase financial sustainability to help and support CMTS’ mission and strategic goals

A1. Enhance and sustain services for the scholarly community

Reflecting its mission, service to the scholarly community is CMTS’ highest priority.  CMTS has a long and successful history of hosting successful academic symposia and conferences. In fact, the quadrennial International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies is the largest Mark Twain conference in the world.  CMTS endeavors to continue this legacy of success. 

At the heart of CMTS’ service to scholars is the Quarry Farm Fellowship program.  CMTS funds national and international scholars to engage in scholarly pursuits at Quarry Farm.  CMTS makes a concerted effort to include graduate students and scholars with new doctoral degrees to ensure the robust future of Mark Twain Studies, ensuring the continuation and rejuvenation of Mark Twain as a central figure in American literature and the field of the Humanities.

Notable Successes of 2025

• Continue the Quarry Farm Fellowship Program.
• Continue to the Trouble Begins and Park Church Lecture Series.
• Facilitate The Twelfth Quarry Farm Symposium “Energy Studies.”
• Start planning for Elmira 2026: The Tenth International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies
• Start planning for the Second Mark Twain Studies Graduate Student Workshop

A2. Enhance and sustain services for the web community

The foundational purpose of MarkTwainStudies.org is to directly serve CMTS’ core constituency, the Mark Twain scholarly community, broadly conceived, by creating and circulating research and resources which facilitate further scholarship on Twain’s life, work, legacy, and world. Some highlights include digital editions of rare works in Twain Studies, substantive encyclopedia-style entries about major figures and events in Twain’s life written by established scholars, and an ever-growing archive of hundreds of audio and video recordings of the Trouble Begins lectures dating back to 1985. The website is also, in a complementary fashion, a resource for students, teachers, journalists, and enthusiasts, and it is frequently updated and reorganized with the needs of these auxiliary constituencies in mind.

In addition to its vast and diverse collection of Twain-related content, MTS.org is increasingly one of the most comprehensive digital collections on historical Elmira, containing virtual tours of Quarry Farm and the Langdon-Clemens Gravesite, interactive maps of 1901 Elmira and Woodlawn Cemetery, a narrative podcast tour, short film, and several essays about Twain’s Elmira and associated figures like John W. Jones, Frederick Douglass, and Thomas K. Beecher.

It also the foremost vehicle for promoting CMTS programming of all kinds, including Quarry Farm Fellowships, annual symposia, the Trouble Begins lectures, and the relevant events of academic member organizations, sister Twain sites, and community partners. Its modest ambitions, when launched in 2016, have long ago been exceeded and it is now one of the most-trafficked non-profit Twain-related sites on the internet, as well as one of the most-trafficked Academic Humanities Centers in the world.

Notable Successes of 2024

• CMTS also published 29 new videos on the Center for Mark Twain Studies YouTube Channel, mostly from our Trouble Begins and Park Church lecture series, as well as the annual Quarry Farm Symposium. Traffic to the CMTS channel increased by 25% this year.
• Published four “Mark Twain Resource Pages.” These resource pages have been written by Mark Twain scholars, often times experts in the particular field. These are meant to be reliable, efficient resources for teachers, students, enthusiasts, and the general They include a short overview of the subject with photographs and suggestions for further research.
• Published episodes of The American Vandal Podcast. It remains one of the 5% most- downloaded podcasts in the world, with listenership growing by over 80% in 2024 according to Spotify.
• Seven new Quarry Farm Testimonials by fellows in residence, including “Time’s Arrow” by Edward Guimont, whose research on Twain and astronomy was aided by Susan Crane’s volume of The Friendly Stars by Martha Evans Martin, Jerry Hardin’s portrayal of Twain on Star Trek, and the clear skies above East Hill.
• Matt Seybold’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of “A True Story, Repeated Word For Word As I Heard It,” drawing on Barbara Snedecor’s Gravity: Selected Letters of Olivia Langdon Clemens to consider why Mary Ann Cord considered it a story not about herself, but about her son, Henry Washington.

Notable Goals for 2025

• Assist Stephen Rachman with writing an NEH “Digital Advancement Humanities Grant” for the purpose of reformatting and updating Mark Twain Day by Day Online.
• Sponsor another season of The American Vandal, this one associated with the sesquicentennial anniversary of Twain’s The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.
• Publish a digital edition of Samuel Langhorne Clemens: Some Reminiscences & Some Excerpts (1910), a self-published pamphlet by Clemens’s nephew, Jervis Langdon (the second). This work is ideal for CMTS since it is rare, has potentially underappreciated utility for scholars, and also highlights Twain’s relationship to Elmira.
• Perform a minor, but substantive revision to the layout of MTS.org. The function and form of the website has changed markedly since our last redesign in 2019.

A3. Enhance and sustain services for the local and regional community

Steve Webb (left) leading a Quarry Farm field trip

Notable Successes of 2024

• Held 13 lectures as part of the 2024 Spring and Fall Trouble Begins and Summer Park Church lecture series.  All lectures are open to the public at no charge.
• Facilitated the Mark Twain Summer Teachers Institute at Quarry Farm for local art teachers, focusing on watercolor landscape and plein air painting. and first published in 1899.  This event was in collaboration with the Greater Southern Tier BOCES Teaching Center.
• Created the “Quarry Farm Book Club” led by Dr. Charlie Mitchell. The book discussed over four sessions was A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
• Assisted the Chemung County Historical Society with the creation of a temporary exhibit focusing on the Langdon Mansion.  The exhibit will feature furniture and paintings currently residing at Quarry Farm.
• Supplied original paintings by George Waters, currently located at Quarry Farm, for an exhibition at the Arnot Art Museum (Elmira, NY)
• Collaborated with the Community Arts of Elmira in the “Clemens and the Pen” Program.
• Facilitated a number of field trips for local schools to the Mark Twain Study and Quarry

Notable Goals for 2025

• Relocate the Mark Twain Exhibit to the Mark Twain Reading Room, located on the second floor of the Gannett-Tripp Library
• Update the interior of the Mark Twain Study

A4. Enhance and sustain services for the Elmira College community

Notable Successes of 2024

• Continued the annual “Portraying Mark Twain Art Contest.” Each student was awarded a monetary prize ranging from $50-$250.
• Hosted a well-attended Elmira College Mountain Day hike to Quarry Farm.  Participants were given a t-shirt designed by Elmira College Professor Jan Kather. T-shirts were supplied by New York Sport & Fitness (Elmira, NY)
• Elmira College students participating in painting art classes created plein air works of the Quarry Farm landscape.
• Elmira College Students in the Honors Program and History Program were given a guided tour of Quarry Farm.
• Elmira College students were employed to help inventory the Mark Twain Archive.

Notable Goals for 2025

• Create three Elmira College interships to assist in collections management and publication design.
• Assist students in the “Museum Studies” class in updating images in the display cases in the Quarry Farm Barn and the Mark Twain Exhibit.
• Continue service to Elmira College, namely its employment of student workers, creative arts and writing contests, and support of the EC Honors program.

B. Preserve the historical infrastructure of Quarry Farm, the Study, the Exhibit, and the Mark Twain Archive

Due to the historic importance of Quarry Farm and the Mark Twain Study as National Historic Landmarks, it is essential that CMTS take a proactive approach to their preservation and maintenance.  The strategic planning decision making process is ideal for helping CMTS allocate funds, calculate the costs of upcoming projects, and proactively anticipate needs.

Due to the success of the Quarry Farm Foundation’s recent capital campaign, CMTS has been able to mitigate the top two risks threatening Quarry Farm, namely fire and seasonal fluctuations in temperature and humidity.  These risks were determined by Johnson-Schmidt & Associates, Preservation Architects (Corning, NY) in their historical structures report, completed in 2020.  In 2023 and 2024, CMTS has installed almost all of a state-of-the-art mist fire suppression system, and an accompanying fire detection system.  As of December 2024, the entire system is in place and is waiting for one electrical component to complete the entire system. Additionally, the damage caused by seasonal fluctuations in temperature and humidity have been lessened with the installation of new copper gutters and downspouts, as well as the regrading and reinstalling of a groundwater drainage system surrounding the main house. 

The next preservation priorities are the replacement of all roofs at Quarry Farm (main house, Maid’s Cottages, and performance Barn) and an update to all electrical systems.

CMTS has made much progress with its other important historic structure, the Mark Twain Study.  CMTS obtained a microscopy paint analysis of the original interior and exterior finishes.  In 2025, CMTS will restore the Mark Twain Study to its original color and texture, as well as redesign the interior to make it more appealing to visitors.

Notable Goals for 2025

• Replace all roofs (main house, Maid’s Cottage’s, and performance Barn) at Quarry Farm. This will be funded by the Quarry Farm Foundation.
• Upgrade all electrical systems at Quarry Farm. This will be funded by the Quarry Farm      
• Restore the Ernest Koppe Room at Quarry Farm. This room will be the new location of the Mark Twain Archive.
• Install new porch doors for the Quarry Farm main house.
• Install storm windows for the Quarry Farm parlor.
• Restore floors in Caretaker’s Apartment.
• Restore the stone steps leading up to the original site of the Study at Quarry Farm.
• Restore the original interior and exterior finishes of the Mark Twain Study.
• Redesign the interior of the Mark Twain Study.

C. Improve the Quarry Farm experience for all residents

At the heart of CMTS’ mission is the Quarry Farm Fellowship Program.  When the Langdon family bequeathed Quarry Farm to Elmira College, the Langdons insisted on restrictions dependent on the gift that Quarry Farm would only be used as a retreat for scholars and writers working in Mark Twain Studies and other related fields.  Because of their far-seeing vision, Quarry Farm is not a historic home open to the general public, but a cultural humanities site singularly dedicated to the promotion and support of Mark Twain Studies scholars.  In order to better fulfill its mission and stay true to its long-term vision of becoming one of the best academic centers in the county, Quarry Farm must be a productive and comfortable workspace for scholars and writers, without compromising its historic integrity.  It is essential that CMTS constantly strive to improve the scholarly work amenities, both direct (primary and secondary source materials, lights, desks, chairs, computers) and indirect (kitchen and sleeping amenities). 

In 2023, CMTS created a satisfaction survey for Quarry Farm residents.  This assessment tool will be administered every year, offering a longitudinal perspective.  Data and suggestions from the scholars will be implemented into the CMTS strategic plan going forward.  Overall, the response from residents at Quarry Farm has been overwhelmingly positive.  Feedback from the survey will be implemented into the strategic plan.  In 2024, results from the satisfaction report showed a slight decline, but still remained very positive on the whole.  This decline can be attributed to disruptions stemming from the installation of the fire suppression and fire detection systems. 

Notable Successes of 2024

• Created a better workspace in the second-floor south porch.
• Acquired complete sets of the Oxford English Dictionary and the Cambridge History of American Literature, plus more than two dozen other books, for the Quarry Farm library.
• Staged the Susan Crane bedroom and Mark Twain bedroom in an effort to make the rooms more visually appealing.
• Purchased and installed a washer/dryer combo machine for resident’s use.
• Acquired a new printer for resident’s use.

Notable Goals for 2025

• Relocate the Quarry Farm marginalia and other special collections books to the pantry in Quarry Farm, improving the appearance of the room and increasing the “Twain experience” for scholars-in-residence.
• Reorganize the “Scholar’s Lounge” and the “Scholar’s Library” to increase the efficacy of both spaces
• Acquire a custom-made work table for the “Scholar’s Lounge”
• Acquire small items for kitchen and bedrooms based on feedback from the satisfaction survey

D. Enhance and sustain the services and materials offered by the Mark Twain Archive to the academic community

Notable Successes of 2024

• Inventoried the book collection in the Mark Twain Archive.
• Inventoried the book collection at Quarry Farm.

Notable Goals for 2025

• Relocate the Mark Twain Archive to the Ernest Koppe Room at Quarry Farm.
• Update all finding aids, both physical and online.

E. Increase financial sustainability to support CMTS’ mission and strategic goals

Due to generous support from the Mark Twain Foundation and individual donations from private supporters, CTMS is able to offer high quality programing to all of its constituencies.  CMTS is honored to state that the Mark Twain Foundation has been the largest and most consistent source of income for CMTS. However, with major projects looming, such as large-scale Quarry Farm preservation projects and continued improvements to MarkTwainStudies.org, while still preserving the Quarry Farm Fellowships and all the other customary annual programming (lectures, field trips, symposia, workshop for teachers, et cetera), CMTS will have to inspire its donation base and aggressively seek out and apply for historic preservation and digital humanities grants.  CMTS will need to continue its most helpful relationship with the Mark Twain Foundation and individual donors, while at the same time it aggressively seeks grants associated with historic building preservation and digital humanities.

In 2022 a collection of individuals saw the need to organize and institute a major fundraising campaign for Quarry Farm and CMTS.  As a result, last year witnessed the formation of The Quarry Farm Foundation, Inc., a duly registered and approved 501(c)(3) charitable organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State Charities Bureau.  Board members include representatives of the Langdon family, prominent Elmira businesspeople, delegates from the Chemung County Historical Society, and senior administrators of Elmira College.  CMTS has been designated the operating arm of the Quarry Farm Foundation. The stated purpose of the Quarry Farm Foundation is to restore and renew all the operating systems at Quarry Farm and to create an endowment that will make Quarry Farm largely self-sufficient and provide a significant additional funding source for CMTS.

 Since its creation in 2022 the Quarry Farm Foundation has raised more than $800,000, most of it from the Elmira-Corning regional community.  A large portion of these funds have been spent and/or allocated for preservation projects at Quarry Farm, namely the modernization and reconfiguration of the drainage system and the installation of a mist fire suppression system and modern fire detection/alarm system.  In 2025, the Quarry Farm Foundation plans to sponsor the replacement of all roofs and a full upgrade of all electrical systems.

Notable Successes of 2024

• Assisted the Quarry Farm Foundation in raising over $800,000 since 2022.
• Successfully obtained a $20,000 grant from the Tianaderrah Foundation for the restoration of the Mark Twain Study.
• Successfully obtained a $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes for two projects at Quarry Farm.

Notable Goals for 2025

• Support the Quarry Farm Foundation’s local campaign.
• Support the Quarry Farm Foundation’s national campaign.
• Entreat the National Register of Historic Places to change its designation from “local significance” to “national significance,” allowing CMTS to pursue larger grants.
• Assist Stephen Rachman in writing a grant to the National Endowment of the Humanities for a redesign of Mark Twain Day by Day Online