Built in 1874 by Sam Clemens for his wife and three daughters, the house on Farmington Ave stands as both a monument to one of America’s greatest writers and a remarkable piece of Victorian stick-style architecture. For Sam Clemens and his family, this house was a place of harmony and friendship. While for Mark Twain, it was home to his most prolific period and greatest works. It was in 1963 when the classic Victorian became one of the first properties to be designated a National Historic Landmark that restoration began in earnest. But in the intervening years, after its sale and the auctioning of much of the interiors, the estate went through many changes and owners before it was set for demolition in the early 1920’s. Now fully restored, the Hartford house remains, sitting on a grassy rise, a survivor and monument not only to architectural history, but also to the dreams and imagination of the man, Mark Twain.