Anyone visiting Hartford should see this one-of-a-kind house. It seems to reflect Mark Twain's personality inside and out. My teens liked the tour even though one of them hasn't read his works yet.

You can't help but think what a fun household this must have been to grow up in.

And don't forget to see the The Paige Compositor in the basement! That's the typesetting machine Mark Twain invested in and went broke over.

Next door is Harriet Beecher Stowe's house, but I haven't visited her yet.

The two authors' homes share a lovely and well-stocked gift shop.

I visited the Mark Twain House with a group of high school students from Southeastern Indiana. The house was awesome, the tour guide provided detailed information about each room and pointed out the many extra features of the house. The craftsmanship of the house is awesome. We also all enjoyed the displays about Mark Twain that are located in the other portion of the facility. I recommend this to all who are interested in Mark Twain and/or houses from this era.

We visited on a Sat afternoon and enjoyed a non-crowded, small group tour. You need to have 2 hours (and a literary proclivity) to enjoy a complete visit to the Mark Twain house. The house itself is a nice victorian home, well preserved and restored. What we liked more was the movie before the tour (describing Sam Clemens' life) and the 2 galleries of exhibits. If you are into literature, don't miss the gallery with books from Mark Twain's library with his personal notes and comments about other authors. Some of the things he's said are hilarious!

There are long lines, and then when you finaly get in you get to hear a boring commentator talk about an old house while you walk for a half and hour through it.