History of the Mark Twain Library:
The Mark Twain Library was founded in 1908 by the most popular American author of the time, Samuel Clemens best known as Mark Twain. No other library in the world can claim this unique distinction! As Twain reached his seventh decade he began to reflect more on his life and the need to document his remarkable journey. He chose the biographer and Redding resident, Albert Bigelow Paine to write his biography. Paine had a significant impact on Samuel Clemens’ final years. In 1906, on Paine’s recommendation, Twain purchased a total of 240 acres in Redding, and arranged to have an Italianate Villa built and named it Stormfield. In June 1908, Twain moved to his new home, where he lived until his death on April 21, 1910. The house was called Stormfield because the proceeds from the writer’s book Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven helped finance it. His youngest daughter Jean who dearly loved animals came to live with him and was delighted to find a farm house on the northeast corner of the estate. Within five months of moving to Redding, Twain joined with his new neighbors to form the Mark Twain Library Association, which still governs the library to this day. An unused chapel on Umpawaug Road was pressed into service as the first library and books donated by the writer and his many friends formed the first collection.
