VISITING THE MARK TWAIN STUDY

Walter Ritchie 2019 Quarry Farm Fellow
The Center for Mark Twain Studies invites all Mark Twain enthusiasts to visit the Mark Twain Study and Exhibit on the Elmira College Campus. Both are made available at no charge to the general public.

HOURS

The Center for Mark Twain Studies invites all Mark Twain enthusiasts to visit the Mark Twain Study and Exhibit on the Elmira College Campus. Both are made available at no charge to the general public.

Monday – Friday
10:00AM to 4:30PM
Closed for Elmira College Holidays

During the Fall, Winter, and Spring months, the public is welcome to view the Mark Twain Study and see the Mark Twain Exhibit in Cowles Hall. The tour is meant to be a self-guided experience.

If using a GPS to locate the Study, the Elmira College address is: One Park Place, Elmira, New York, 14901.

Students at the study
If driving from I-86:

  • Take exit 56 for NY-352 toward Elmira/Jerusalem Hill.
  • Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Church St and merge onto NY-352/E Church St
  • Turn right onto N Main St.
  • At the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit onto Park Place.
  • The best place to park your car is in the parking lot behind Cowles Hall, off Washington Avenue. (Use the map below)

If you have any questions, contact twaincenter@elmira.edu.

MAP OF ELMIRA COLLEGE
MAP OF ELMIRA COLLEGE

The Mark Twain and Olivia Langdon Statues

The Mark Twain statue was a gift of the Elmira College Class of 1934, who have a long standing interest in Mark Twain and the Center for Mark Twain Studies. Made of bronze, the statue weighs 376 pounds. From the base to the top of the structure, it is 12 feet high, which is two fathoms or, as riverboat pilots would say, “mark twain.”

Olivia Langdon statue was a gift of the Elmira College Class of 2008. Made of bronze, the statue weighs almost 600 pounds. Olivia, once a student at Elmira College, is attired in a dress that is part of the collections at the Chemung County Historical Museum. At the time when she wore the featured dress, Olivia had a twenty-inch waist (corseted) — this after bearing four children. The statue shows Olivia with her hand extended toward the nearby statue of her husband while his glance takes in the Study some distance away.

Kids standing at the Mark Twain statue
Olivia Langden Clemens statue

Woodlawn Cemetery: The Final Resting Place of Mark Twain and His Family

When Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910, he was buried next to his wife, son, and two daughters in Elmira at Woodlawn Cemetery. A large granite monument was later erected by his daughter Clara as a memorial to her father and her husband, Ossip Gabrilowitsch. Mark Twain was also laid to rest with the Langdon family. Woodlawn Cemetery is also the final resting place to a number of important people in Mark Twain’s life, including Mary Ann Cord, the inspiration to “A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It;” Thomas K. Beecher, the leader of Elmira’s Park Church, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, and friend of Mark Twain; and John T. Lewis, Quarry Farm neighbor and friend to the Langdon family and Mark Twain.
Mark Twain's grave
CMTS has created an interactive map of important grave sites focusing on Mark Twain, the Langdon family, and late nineteenth century Elmira. You can find it HERE.

The main entrance to Woodlawn Cemetery is 1200 Walnut Street, Elmira, New York, 14905. The entrance to Woodlawn Cemetery is just over a mile away from the Mark Twain Study.

The Chemung County Historical Society

Round out your “Mark Twain” Elmira tour with a visit to the Chemung County Historical Society. Take a walk through time and discover treasures from the past. The Chemung County Historical Society “brings history alive” through interpretive exhibitions, education programs, and publications that tell the county’s history. The museum has a permanent exhibit dedicated to Mark Twain, including artifacts used by Mark Twain, furniture from the Langdon Mansion, and many images of Twain, his family, the Langdons, and historic Elmira of the late nineteenth century. The Museum also has exhibits dedicated to a number of different aspects of the rich history of Chemung County.

The Chemung County Historical is located at 415 East Water Street in the heart of downtown Elmira, New York.

Chemung Valley Historical Society Logo
Elmira College Masthead