Mark Twain House is Among the Most Romantic in the World

It’s Valentine’s Day and romance is in the air.

It‘s apparently always in the air at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn.

Samuel Clemens, who used the pen name Mark Twain, made Hartford his home. He and the love of his life, Olivia Langdon, moved here in 1871, the year after they got married, and eventually built the house that has become a treasured local landmark.   

Twain’s love for his home 25-room, 11,500 square foot was no secret.

“To us, our house … had a heart, and a soul and eyes to see us with; and approvals and solicitudes and deep sympathies; it was of is, and we were in its confidence and lived in its grace and in the peace of its benediction,” Twain said, according to the Mark Twain House and Museum Web site.

The admiration he had for his wife was also no secret, according to This Old House. He considered her an equal and put the deed to the house and land in her name.

Unfortunately, the family was forced to move from the home in 1891. Because of financial issues, they moved to Europe. Then, they dealt with the tragedy of losing a daughter. In 1903, the Clemens sold the house.

While tragic circumstances ended the family’s time in the house, the museum preserves the memory of one of America’s favorite authors and the stories that have captivated children, generation after generation.
 

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