Before he became famous for his novels, Samuel Clemens ("Mark Twain") married into a wealthy family. Samuel Clemens and his wife Olivia Langdon asked the noted architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design a lavish "poet's house" on Nook Farm, a pastoral neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut.
Edward Tuckerman Potter was known for designing grand Romanesque churches, but his design for the Clemens home was bright and whimsical. With brilliantly colored bricks, geometric patterns, and elaborate trusses, the 19-room mansion became a hallmark of what came to be known as the Stick Style of architecture. After living in the house for several years, the Clemens hired Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated Artists to decorate the first floor with stencils and wallpapers.
Taking the pen name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens wrote his most famous novels in this house, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The house was sold in 1903. Samuel Clemens died in 1910.
- Patterned Brick at the Mark Twain HousePatterned Brick at the Mark Twain House
- Brick Details at the Mark Twain HouseA row of bricks set at angles adds texture to the walls of Mark Twain's Connecticut home.
- Chimney Pots at the Mark Twain HouseChimney Pots at the Mark Twain House
- Patterned Slate at the Mark Twain HouseColored slates form patterns on the slate roof of the Mark Twain House
- Mark Twain's Carriage HouseMark Twain's carriage house had the same careful detailing as the main house.
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