‘Mark Twain Country’
Studying Samuel Langhorne Clemens’ ties to Elmira, N.Y.
By Diane Stoneback
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
ELMIRA, N.Y.
Elmira is a long way from Mark Twain’s Hannibal, Mo., birthplace and many miles from his grand Victorian home in Hartford, Conn. But this town has its own story to tell about Samuel Langhorne Clemens, one of America’s greatest writers and storytellers.
Elmira’s story explains its “Mark Twain Country” moniker and why Twain wrote seven books, including “Huckleberry Finn” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” in Elmira.
Twain courted and married the love of his life, Olivia “Livy” Langdon, in Elmira. The couple’s three daughters were born in Elmira. Twain, Livy and the girls stayed and played in Elmira for 22 fun-filled summers, and Elmira’s Woodlawn Cemetery is the final resting place for Twain and his family.
Those summers in Chemung County, along New York’s southern tier, probably were the happiest times of Twain’s life. He once said that being in Elmira was like getting “a foretaste of heaven.”
Elmirans finally have decided to let the world know about their town’s deep connections with Twain. They’re moving full-steam ahead on a raft of activities for the rest of 2010 — celebrating Mark Twain’s 175th birthday and the 125th anniversary of the release of “Huckleberry Finn.”
This summer, Elmira visitors who want to learn more about Twain, his haunts and recreational pursuits will be greeted by jaunty posters and banners containing Twain caricatures and the town’s new slogan: “Proud to be where Twain remains.”
When the Clemens family packed for their summer escape from Hartford’s oppressive heat and equally daunting social scene, they settled in at Quarry Farm, which sits high on East Hill overlooking Elmira. It was the home of Livy’s brother-in-law and sister, Theodore and Susan Langdon Crane.
While Livy spent her days with the Cranes or visiting her parents at their home in downtown Elmira, the girls spent time in their playhouse, enjoyed the out-of-doors and befriended the farm’s animals, including a corps of cats whom Twain named and loved, too.
Meanwhile, Twain put in full days writing at Quarry Farm. His mind danced with ideas that poured out onto paper at a furious pace.
The reason? The Cranes created a grand place for him to write — a study that was far enough from their farmhouse to be quiet and high enough on East Hill to give him a grand view of the Chemung River threading its way through the heart of Elmira. Although it wasn’t as big as the Mississippi, it inspired him.
Twain loved that study, which was shaped like the pilot house on a Mississippi River steamboat. Before his peaceful summers here ended, he would write “Roughing It,” “A Tramp Abroad,” “The Prince and the Pauper” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” within its walls.
Twainiacs visiting Elmira should make the study one of their first stops. But it has been moved.
Livy Langdon’s descendents, who willed both the study and the farm to Elmira College, decided to share these treasures in two different ways.
The study was moved from East Hill to the Elmira College campus, to show thousands of people who want to see where Twain did his best work. Twain’s words, posted inside, explain his feelings for his cozy little “wordshop.”
“It is octagonal, with a peaked roof, each face filled with a spacious window, and it sits perched in complete isolation .... It is a cozy nest and just room in it for a sofa, table and three or four chairs, and when the storms sweep down the remote valley and the lightning flashes behind the hills beyond, and the rain beats upon the roof over my head, imagine the luxury of it.”
Quarry Farm has been carefully preserved and reserved for use by Twain scholars researching and writing books.
Barbara Snedecor, director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, says, “Truly devoted Twain fans can ask at the study for driving directions to the farm. They can pull over to the side of East Hill’s Pond Road to see or take pictures of the farmhouse and its porch where Clemens sat every evening to read his day’s work to the family.”
Signing up for one of the center’s evening programs in the barn at Quarry Farm gives Twain devotees the chance to stroll the farmhouse grounds and pet the cats there. The barn also contains Twain-related displays, including the author’s fossil collection. (For coming programs, e-mail twaincenterelmira.edu.)
There are many more Twain-related experiences in Elmira.
Take a ride on The Elmiran, the trolley that leaves from the Holiday Inn Riverview. The trolley drivers treat passengers to a lively narrative about the town, its history, Twain and his pastimes. The trolley stops at Twain’s study on the campus, and drivers also point out the locations of statues of Mark Twain (at “mark twain” height) and Livy, who was a member of Elmira College’s class of 1864.
After the tour, return to the college’s Hamilton Hall to view a free exhibit about Twain’s life in Elmira and explore its gift shop for Twain souvenirs.
The Chemung Valley History Museum’s permanent Twain exhibit and new temporary gallery tell more about Twain’s time in Elmira. It details the romantic story of how Sam Clemens met and courted Livy. She turned him down three times!
Other exhibit highlights are the Langdon’s role in Elmira society and the good times at Quarry Farm. Along the way, visitors will see one of the pool tables Twain used, Livy and Sam’s marriage license, a desk Twain may have used at Quarry Farm, one of his pipes, a favorite quill pen and one of his typewriters that helps make his case for claiming to be the first author ever to write a full manuscript on one of the new-fangled machines. Shopper’s tip: The museum shop is another good place to pick up Twain-related material.
The Langdon family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery is the saddest point on a Twain Country tour. But in Mark Twain-like style that makes most people smile, visitors sometimes leave a gift for him on his gravestone — a cigar — recalling his habit of smoking as many as 40 a day.
After hitting all the “official stops” for learning about Twain, allow time for some Twain-style fun.
Ride the beautiful (and fast) turn-of-the-century carousel at Eldridge Park. The grand Victorian-era walking park that’s being lovingly restored also offers rides in a dragon boat on its central lake as well as paddleboats. But its newest and biggest attraction opens Memorial Day weekend — the Mark Twain Miniature Golf Course. Its ticket booth precisely re-creates every detail of the original Mark Twain study at Quarry Farm.
To conclude a visit to Twain Country, stop at Elmira’s Starlite Room to sample its Twain-themed libations centered on Old Crow, Twain’s favorite. Or take a 40-minute drive to Glenora Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake. There, you can savor their Mark Twain Riesling with a dinner at Glenora’s Veraisons Restaurant.
Either location will be appropriate for a few toasts to Mark Twain’s luck at finding Livy and her beloved Elmira.
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TIP ONE: Visit the Mark Twain study, Hamilton Hall exhibit and statue on the Elmira College campus; take The Elmiran trolley tour; see Mark Twain in Elmira exhibit at the Chemung Valley Historyl Museum and stop at Woodlawn Cemetery where Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) is buried.
TIP TWO: For Twain-connected fun, Victorian-era Eldridge Park will open its new Mark Twain Miniature Golf Course (its ticket booth is a painstakingly accurate re-creation of the original Mark Twain study) and also offers rides on an amazingly fast carousel as well as on dragon and paddle boats.
TIP THREE: Elmira chefs will offer their interpretations of Twain’s favorite foods on summer and fall weekends. Stop at Charlie’s Cafe, Hill Top Restaurant, Barb’s Soup’s On Cafe and Sophie’s Cafe to eat Twain-style. Also, sip Twain-inspired drinks at The Starlite Room or pop the cork on Glenora Wine Cellars’ Mark Twain Riesling.
TIP FOUR: Serious Mark Twain enthusiasts should attend a public lecture in the barn at Quarry Farm or a program like the Oct. 15 and 16 seminar “En Route,” which will examine Twain’s travel books, “A Tramp Abroad” and “Following the Equator.” All are offered by the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College.
TIP FIVE: Good places to stay in the heart of Elmira are the Holiday Inn Riverview or The Painted Lady bed and breakfast.
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