I was awarded a Quarry Farm Fine Arts Fellowship by The Center for Mark Twain Studies. I’ll be living in the house that Mark Twain and his family stayed in for over 20 Springs and Summers. My residency is from September 8 through September 19. While there I will document my stay in photographs and words. I will also share the experience on this webpage, hoping to update it everyday. So, check in often and feel free to share with others.

Here’s a link to a Virtual Tour of the Quarry Farm house and grounds.

https://marktwainstudies.com/quarry-farm-virtual-tour/

Mark Twain on the Quarry Farm Porch (1903).

9/17 Day 10

A little change in the weather this morning. Still dry, no fog, but the sky was actually cloud covered for a bit! I’ll take this little “weather

event” as maybe as good as it will get.

Walking around beyond the walnut grove I spotted pokeweed berries dangling amidst the brush. I don’t see this plant very often, so was glad to run into it. The berries are attractive looking, but poisonous to humans. They are a good food source for some birds though.

Nearby were the black locust trees that had the Cracked Cap Polypore growing on them. Most were high up on the trees but a few were at eye level. It was good to get a closer look at them. They are very hard and tough, but attractive looking with their two-toned light and dark brown coloring.

I counted the rooms in the Quarry Farm house. There are 6 rooms downstairs and 7 rooms upstairs. 1 bathroom downstairs and 3 upstairs. There are also numerous closets and storages spaces throughout. There are also 7 fireplaces, 3 downstairs and 4 up. Even after 10 days living here, I still occasionally make a wrong turn!

Tomorrow, my last full day here, I am going on a quest! In the pictures below is one from a video about archaeology at Quarry Farm. It shows the site of where the “tent” was located. The following picture is an old one of the “tent.” In 1986 they found the site of where it had been located and also a 2’ by 2’ slab of rock that was the base of the center pole. I’ve looked previously a little bit in the area just above the quarry, but to no avail. Having found this pictorial information from 1986 gives me a little more to go by in trying to locate the slab. Stay tuned!

Had two visitors later in the day. Jan Kather, an old friend who teaches at Elmira College and was the one who suggested I apply for this Fellowship, came by in the late afternoon. We sat on the rocking chairs on the veranda facing out over the hills beyond. We hadn’t seen each other for quite awhile, so it was good to catch up on our lives a bit and to talk about Mark Twain and Quarry Farm.

Then, dear friend and work partner from the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, Casey Winston, had dinner with me here and stayed the night. Dinner was out on the veranda and then, after a walk down the front lawn to the stone wall and back, we, too, sat on the rocking chairs and talked and talked and talked as night came on and stars dotted the sky.

(Click on thumbnail pics for larger view)

9/16 Day 9

Out on the veranda with my tea and laptop before dawn this morning. Needed to turn the veranda lights on.

After breakfast I took a walk, with sneakers on, to the Ellerslie chimney that I found the day before from up above. It was easy to locate now that I knew the proximity of it from on the ground.

In one of the old photographs of the Ellerslie building there doesn’t appear to be a chimney such as this. It probably was an add-on later. This chimney was not quite as massive as the other one I viewed a few days ago, the John T. Lewis one.

Every day that I’ve been here I’ve heard Ravens calling out and occasionally have seen them. Other birds seen here: Blue Jay, Chickadee, Junco, White-breasted Nuthatch, Crow, Downy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Flicker and Redtail Hawk.

Learned that the Black Walnut grove was planted in 1977. It mentioned 17 trees. I counted 28 of them, so there may have been another planting.

I needed to head into town for some groceries. While out, I drove over to the Walnut Street bridge that is visible from the Quarry Farm house. I was curious how visible the house would be from the bridge.

It was very easy to locate. I took a few pictures, though it was quite distant, about 3 miles away I estimated.  

When Mark Twain’s family was here, they would be able to look down from the house and see Elmira because of the lack of trees. I even read somewhere that sheets would be waved from high on the house to communicate with family at the Langdon house in the city below.

In the morning I work outside on the veranda. By late morning it is a little too bright there with all of the sunny days we have had. It is difficult to see the laptop screen comfortably. So then I move inside.  There are three different upstairs rooms that I have sat in, doing my writing.

Twain wrote in a letter:

“I can write ten chapters in Elmira where I can write one here [Hartford]… I work at work here but I don’t accomplish anything worth speaking of… I can’t succeed except by getting clean out of the world on top of the mountain in Elmira.”

Having been here “on top of the mountain” for nine days now, I get a sense of why being here was so productive for him.

9/15 Day 8

A bit of “weather” this morning: thick fog, not just in the valley. It actually lingered up here for a few hours before finally dispersing. This being the big weather event during my stay, I made sure to get a few pictures.

Along with the fog, numerous dewy spider webs glistened throughout the lawn.

While I was wandering around in the foggy morning I decided to see if I could locate the Ellerslie chimney. This was the playhouse for the children. I had looked at one of the old photographs of it and noticed it was set against a rocky background, not too unlike the quarry here. So, I set out off to the south and west of the quarry over ground that was overgrown and with a lot of fallen branches and trees. I only had on my crocs and really wasn’t set for exploring on that kind of terrain. So, I worked my way up above, where the ground was more open in the woods. From there, I came across the chimney down below! Tomorrow I’ll put on my sneakers and make my way to it at ground level.

On the way back from there I came across a number of puffball mushrooms growing on a downed tree. They were white inside and edible. I gathered a handful and will cook them up at some point. This dry summer has not been very conducive for mushroom growth, so I was excited to find these.

There are little signs of the coming Autumn season. Some Virginia creeper is turning its autumnal red and a few maple leaves, too. Being as it has been such a dry summer, leaves are also dropping from some trees maybe a little sooner than normal.

In the evening I facilitated a writing workshop that was sponsored by the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and organized by Casey Winston of the ARTS. We had presented this workshop in 2022 and 2023 and it was very well received. The difference this year is that I was in residence here. 11 writers and a painter participated and everyone had a memorable time. I took a few photos of them as they worked.

After the workshop, when everyone had left, the night was quiet, the veranda empty. I sat for a little while in one of the rocking chairs, lights from the distant city drawing my attention. Another vibrant day at Quarry Farm was drawing to a close. A little sadness creeped in knowing I would be leaving this place in a few days. I wondered if Mark Twain felt that same sadness creep in as the family neared time to leave, to return to Hartford.  

(Click on thumbnail pics for larger view)

9/14 Day 7

About 12:30 AM I was woken by someone calling my name, “Michael.” I listened for more sound, thinking maybe Tamar had called. But nothing more.

There has been almost no weather during my stay here. What I mean by that is every day has been sunny or mostly sunny and also warm. No rain, no storms, no frosty mornings. It is predicted to be that way through the rest of my stay this week.

The biggest “weather” incident has been early morning fog. Most of that has been in the distance, though the first morning wispy fog hung in the air nearby and that led to a wonderful photo of “enlightenment!” (See Day 2 pics.)

I had been hoping for some weather like Mark Twain wrote about in describing his study:

“It is cozy nest, with just room in it for a sofa and a table and three or four chairs and when the storms sweep down the remote valley and the lightening flashes above the hills beyond, and the rain beats on the roof over my head, imagine the luxury of it!”

I guess I can only imagine.

Good morning conversation on the veranda with Tamar before she needed to leave. The veranda is such a welcoming, comfortable space to hang out on, or is it in? Of course, the up side to the boring dry and warm weather is that it has been quite comfortable to spend much of the day there. Every morning I’ve had my morning tea out there and often work during the day on my computer at one of the two tables situated there.

There’s a picture of Mark Twain in a rocking chair on the veranda above. That picture was taken in 1903, his last visit here at Quarry Farm. There’s a picture of him at the study with the same clothes on. My guess is that they/he wanted to document his last visit here, assuming he knew he would not ever return again.

My attire has been much more casual than his!

9/13 Day 6

Have invited six poets for a visit today. We’ll share food, conversation and do a bit of writing, which we’ll share on the veranda after dinner, just like Mark Twain would do.

Every morning I’ve been taking a picture of the view from the veranda. Every morning its been about the same. Mostly clear sky with some fog. The first morning was the foggiest. Since then, just little wisps of fog mostly. I’ll continue the morning pic throughout my stay here.

There’s a nice little walnut grove just on the other side of the barn. 28 trees that were obviously planted because they are in straight rows, for the most part.

Not planted, but nearby the walnuts, are some old black locust trees that have the Cracked Cap Polypore, or Phellinus robiniae, growing on them. It is an attractive brown pored fungus the almost entirely is found on locust trees.

Also nearby, Virginia Creeper plants were climbing up trees and have started turning red. Mark Twain referenced the plant in a letter:

”On the peak of the hill is an old arbor roofed with bark and covered with the vine you call the American Creeper. Its green is almost bloodied with red.”

The six poets who gathered, Bart, Casey, Melissa, GS, JC and Tamar, arrived around noon and stayed until early evening. We shared lunch on the veranda and some words of Mark Twain’s. I then gave them a tour of the house and took them to the site where Mark Twain’s study was located. After that, they all dispersed to various outdoor locations for a couple of hours of writing.

When we gathered back again on the veranda, we partook of a wonderful dinner. In preparing the food, I took notice of the fact that it was three of us in the kitchen finishing up our offerings and we were all guys! Tamar came in a few minutes after I mentioned that and, on her own, commented on the same observation!

After dinner we gathered around in a circle on the veranda to share what was written earlier. This was something that Mark Twain did after dinner. He would read to his family what he had written during the day. He also probably sipped a little Scotch Whisky, which we did, too, in honor of him.

He became fond of Scoth Whisky when he traveled to England in 1873. It became his beverage of choice, so much so, that Andrew Carnegie would occasionally send a gift of a cask of the whiskey to Twain.

These are some quotes from thank you letters he wrote to Carnegie:

“I got the whisky, dear Saint Andrew, and something happened to it. Always does.”

“Your whisky came at the right time. Of course, your whisky never comes at the wrong time.”

“The whisky arrived in due course from over the water; last week one bottle of it was extracted from the wood and inserted into me, on the instalment plan … with this result, that I believe it to be the best, smoothest whisky now on the planet.”

The hour grew late and many of the poets gathered had a long drive back home. Tamar stayed the night, as she came all the way from NJ. After the others had driven off, Tamar and I cleaned up the kitchen and then sat up conversing for quite awhile before turning in for the night.

It was a wonderful afternoon and evening of food, camaraderie and creativity. I suspect Mark Twain experienced many such moments here at Quarry Farm.

(Click on thumbnail pics for larger view)

9/12 Day 5

An enjoyable unexpected encounter this morning. I went back into the woods to see if I could find the site for the “tree” and then maybe the chimney from “Ellerslie”, the children’s playhouse. I was up above the quarry looking around for the 2 foot square slab that was the center post base of the Tree. While looking, a large dog came running through the woods at me, barking incessantly. I was a little concerned because he came right up to me, maybe two feet away and kept barking and occasionally growling. I didn’t want to turn my back to him, so I stood facing him and talking gently. I thought I would just wait him out. Then, I heard a woman’s voice calling and noticed someone walking toward me through the woods. Ah, the owner, I thought. I was correct, and she got matters under control and profusely apologized to me.

We then got into a conversation. She is a nearby neighbor and comes walking the trails here (Finger Lakes Land Trust property adjacent to Quarry Farm) regularly. I told her what I was doing there, looking for the Tree site (which she didn’t know about) and then the chimney. She told me she could show me where the chimney is, so we walked together back on the trail she was on. Her name is Lori and we had the most pleasant conversation.

When we approached the chimney I was having doubts that it was the Ellerslie chimney because it seemed too far away from Quarry Farm. Sure enough, it was the second chimney I was going to look for later on. It is thought to be John T. Lewis’s, a neighbor and friend of Mark Twain who was one of the people Jim, in Huckleberry Finn, was based upon. Lori wasn’t aware of the Ellerslie chimney. I’ll need to go on a hunt for that some other time.

Lori and I continued to walk and talk for a bit and then I felt I needed to head back. We exchanged contact info and she’s going to come visit on the veranda Sunday afternoon to continue our conversation.

It is those unexpected connections that happen in life that I so value, and that occur quite often in my life. I always think of David Grayson when these transpire.

As I sit writing on the veranda, a man is on the other side of the stonewall at the bottom of the field taking pictures of the house. I am sure this happens a bit because of Mark Twain’s enduring popularity. The house and grounds of Quarry Farm are private property and not open to the public. When it was donated to Elmira College, it was stipulated that Quarry Farm not be public and that it was to be used for academic purposes.

9/11 Day 4

Another clear morning and only wisps of fog down in the valley.

9/11, and the news from out there in the world on this anniversary of a tragic event is of another killing. Charlie Kirk, right-wing influencer assassinated while at a Utah university yesterday. The political dynamic in this country is a stew of violent rhetoric that is boiling over the edge of the pot and burning in the flames.

Meanwhile, I sit here on the veranda in the cool morning air gazing out at distant forested hills and sipping my morning tea. Shafts of sunlight peek through the nearby trees, illuminating the sloping field in front of me. A bluejay’s call drifts through the stillness. There is not a single cloud visible in the pale blue morning sky.

Presently, a siren’s wail from somewhere down below pierces the quietude, reminds me that there is no idyllic “away”.

Left Quarry Farm for the first time since arriving three days ago. I wanted to visit Mark Twain’s gravesite and then the Study, which has been on the Elmira College campus since 1952..

Mark Twain and his family are buried in the Langdon family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira. I had been there previously, but Carolyn hadn’t (she’s visiting till tomorrow morning.) Below are photos of the tombstones of the immediate family. He and Olivia had four children, two of which died before both parents and one (Jean) before Mark Twain passed away.

Langdon Clemens born in 1870 and died in 1872 from diptheria.

Olivia Susan Clemens, 1872, died in 1896 from spinal meningitis while her parents were in Italy.

Clara Clemens, 1874, was the only child to outlive her parents.

Jane (Jean) Clemens, 1880, died by drowning in a bathtub on Christmas Eve morning, 1909.

Mark Twain’s wife, Olivia (Livy) predeceased him by almost six years.

There was so much heartache in their lives, losing three of their four children.

On the top of Jean’s tombstone are these words:

“In memory of Jean Lampton Clemens, a most dear daughter, her desolate father sets this stone.”

On his wife’s stone are these words:

“In this grave repose the ashes of Olivia Langdon the beloved and lamented wife of Samuel L. Clemens who reverently raises this stone to her memory.”

Mark Twain’s stone only has his names and birth and death dates. No additional words.

Twain’s study sits on the grounds of Elmira College. Adjacent to it is the Clara Clemens horse watering trough that was moved to here in 1976. One can’t go in the study (I’ve been inside a few times in the past) but can gaze inside through the front door. It is octagonal, with windows on seven sides and a fireplace on the 8^th. One can only imagine now what it was like to be inside the study when it was situated here at Quarry Farm. To help the imagination, here are some words from Mark Twain:

“Susie Crane has built the loveliest study for me you ever saw.  It is octagonal, with a peaked roof, each octagon filled with a spacious window, and it sits perched in complete isolation on top of an elevation that commands leagues of valley and city and retreating ranges of distant hills. It is cozy nest, with just room in it  for a sofa and a table and three or four chairs and when the storms sweep down the remote valley and the lightening flashes above the hills beyond, and the rain beats on the roof over my head, imagine the luxury of it!  It stands 500 feet above the valley and 2 ½ miles from it.”

The discrepancy between the present seven windows and Twain mentioning eight is that there was originally a window somehow incorporated in the chimney of the fireplace, but it hindred the draft so was removed. I can’t quite imagine that.

Before returning I stopped at Maine Harvest Seafood on the southside of Elmira. I like seafood but there’s not much choice of fresh fish near where I live. (About 50 miles from here.) But this store has fresh seafoof delivered twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, today, on the supper menu is fresh Arctic Char!

(Click on thumbnail pics for larger view)

9/10 Day 3

Another cool September morning. Once again fog down in the valley, but not as thick as yesterday morning. I once again, and probably will most every morning, started out my day with my morning tea out on the veranda.

After tea I walked down the sloping lawn to the stone wall that borders part of two sides of the property. I’ve always been fascinated by stone walls. Also amazed and all of the work that has gone into building them. These are flat sedimentary stones that probably came from the farm quarry.

While walking along the wall that borders the east side of the property I came across what seemed to be a large cement planter box. Etched on a narrow side was “Jean 1880”. Further on was another one, “Langdon Clemens 1870”. Then a little bit further was a third one. What I later learned was that Mark Twain was opposed to animal cruelty and decided to have a horse watering trough installed along the road whenever he and Livy had another child. The idea of a watering trough never crossed my mind as these were all dirt filled and had plants growing in them.

The wall had a couple of openings, one at the bottom of the field and another closer to the house . There were gates of entry at those openings.

Did a bit of reading today of the Cultural Landscape Report that can be accessed here. https://marktwainstudies.com/quarry-farm-landscape-history/ It goes into detail about the house and other buildings that are, and were, at Quarry Farm. There was a hand drawn map of the property and some of the buildings that have been part of the property. I was intrigued by the two chimneys that are still standing back in the woods. One is not on the property, but had some association with Quarry Farm. I’m hoping in the next day or two to go on an expedition to locate them.

Also had a lunch visitor today – my daughter Cassandra. She brought up Chinese food that we ate while sitting on the veranda. Ah, such luxury! Then later, Carolyn came by and will be staying here till Friday morning.

(Click on thumbnail pics for larger view)

9/9 Day 2

Had my pot of morning tea while sitting on the veranda in the cool early morning air. Valley fog obscured the distant view.

Off to the left on the veranda, I noticed rays of sun breaking through the fog behind a small tree that just begged for a picture. Posted it on FB and receiving a lot of comments.

Received a gift this morning that was waiting for me on the veranda near the front door – a dead Northern Short-tailed Shrew! I assume the gift was left there for me by Greg, Steve’s cat.

Fog lifted by around 10 AM and the day is sunny and warm.

I delved into archeology of Quarry Farm today after watching the video I shared .

First, I wanted to see the site of Mark Twains’ study. The walkway up to the study was obvious. Then, at the site of the study, after walking up the slab rock stairs, I was first struck (which I already knew) that there was no view of the valley below from here. It’s been well over a hundred years since Mark Twain used it. Trees have a way of growing to obscure the distant view!

Watched a video about Quarry Farm archaeological findings. Very informative and has given me ideas about what I can seek out on the property here.

9/8 Day 1

Settling in day. Arrived in the afternoon and most of the day was settling in, getting my bearings, stocking up food, etc.

Steve, the caretaker who lives in a separate building on the property, greeted me on arrival and gave me a tour through the house, filling me in on details I should know about staying here.

Afterwards I brought in everything from the car and “set up house.”

And what a house it is! Two rooms are the “museum” rooms – the parlor and dining room. They both are about the same as when Mark Twain spent time here. They are not for casual use. More on them, along with pics, later.

The rest of the rooms, and there are quite a number of them, are open to use. Again, more on all of that later. But, I did find myself stepping the wrong way a few times, thinking I was going toward where I wanted to be but realizing, oops, it’s that way.

I ate supper out on the veranda as the sun started dipping down behind the trees. The house has a wonderful view to the south across a sloping field, but otherwise trees prohibit views in the other directions.

Presently I’m in a small upstairs room that faces south. The sun has set, the sky slowly darkens and lights from down Elmira way glitter against the dark background of the looming hills beyond. Reminds me of a Robinson Jeffers poem, “The Purse Seine.”

https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/jeffers/PurseSeine.html