Mark Twain Country

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens married Olivia Louise Langdon in 1870 in her hometown of Elmira, New York. For well over the next two decades, the Clemens family summered in Elmira, at the home of Olivia’s sister, Susan, and her husband, Theodore Crane. It was at Quarry Farm overlooking the Chemung Valley that Clemens reminisced of his youth on the Mississippi River, thus inspiring him to write his classic American tales The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson, Life on the Mississippi, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

The Mark Twain Study

The study where Clemens spent the majority of his time on Quarry Farm was moved to the Elmira College campus in 1952 and is now known as the number one literary attraction in America. The Mark Twain Study, Exhibit, and Statues on the Elmira College campus are open to visitors from May 1 through Labor Day, (Please phone 607.735.1941 for a personal visit to the Mark Twain Study and Exhibit.) Twain enthusiasts can also view a permanent Twain exhibit at the Chemung Valley History Museum, as well as see the Mark Twain Gravesite at Elmira’s Woodlawn Cemetery.

Mark Twain Country Trolley Tours

*postponed for 2021*

The Trolley into Mark Twain Country Tours offer a one hour guided tour of Twain’s legacy in Elmira, NY, where the author penned his greatest classics from his summer home. Tours depart Tuesday through Saturday, on the hour from 10 AM to 2 PM, during July & August from the Chemung Valley History Museum, 415 East Water Street in Elmira. Please note the trolley will not run on July 4th.  Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for children 12 & under when accompanied by an adult. Reservations are encouraged but not required, and may be made by calling 607.734.4167.

Points of interest on the tours departing from 10 AM to 1 PM include: a stop to go inside the Mark Twain Study at Elmira College; the beautiful Maple Avenue Historic District;  Woodlawn National Cemetery (honoring Civil War Fallen Union and Confederate Soldiers, and modern era Armed Services Veterans); historic Near Westside District; Elmira Civil War Prison Camp; Dunn Field, home of the Elmira Pioneers baseball team; the Arnot Art Museum; the Chemung Valley History Museum; the Clemens Center ... and more! The 2 PM tour will take a different route and stop at both the Mark Twain Study at Elmira College and Twain’s gravesite at Woodlawn Cemetery.

To view a video of the Trolley into Twain Country tours, click here.

For a description of featured sites and locator map, click here : Trolley into Twain Country Tour