With the Centennial year just a couple days away I put together a slideshow
presentation that highlights his final home, Stormfield, and the Mark Twain
Library which he funded and founded for his "fellow farmers" in Redding.

http://www.historyofredding.com/Twain-Redding.ppt

We here in Redding owe a great deal to Samuel L. Clemens and we plan to pay
him back by making an effort to raise awareness and interest in Mark Twain's
time not only in Redding, Connecticut but across the State of Connecticut.

The long term goal of our 2010 project is to make Connecticut a destination
for Mark Twain tourism and research. With 53 Connecticut towns and cities
(out of 169) now connected to Mark Twain, and many of these connections
relating to existing museums, libraries and/or public buildings there is
very little effort required to bring this plan to fruition.

By connecting 53 Connecticut towns and cities to Mark Twain:

- We increase the chances of a significant Mark Twain Conference/Convention
being held here in Connecticut. Hartford would be the host city with our
'Twain Connections' providing plenty of sight seeing opportunities for
conference attendees.

- We increase the foot traffic to Connecticut museums, libraries, and public
buildings.

- We provide a tourism program that can be expanded upon in the future. i.e.
If the Twain Tourism angle works we could expand the idea to showcase
'Connecticut's Greatest Residents'.

- We raise Redding, Twain's final home, to the level and status of the other
Mark Twain Sites- Hartford, Hannibal, Buffalo, Berkeley, Elmira. This is
important as Twain2010.org doesn't even list Redding at the present.


A special Thank You to all those that made this PowerPoint Presentation
possible.

Thank you to Barbara Schmidt and her amazing Twain resource site.
www.TwainQuotes.com

Thank you to David Thompson and his collection of Twain photos and montages.
http://www.twainquotes.com/DaveThomson.html &
http://steamboats.com/museum/davet.html

Thank you to Kevin Mac Donnell for his knowledge, insights, rare photos and
books. www.MacDonnellRareBooks.com

Thank you to Susan Boone Durkee for her knowledge, photos, artwork and
parties. Two of Susan's portraits appear in the slideshow- Jean and Sam in
his Oxford Gown. www.SusanDurkee.com

Thank you to The Mark Twain House, for their truly amazing museum, and
priceless photos. Thank you to Patti Phillippon for access and usage.
www.MarkTwainHouse.org

Thank you to Heather Morgan and her staff at the Mark Twain Library for
access and usage to their collections. The MTL is a treasure trove of new
information on Twain's Final years and I am amazed by its contents on each
and every visit. www.MarkTwainLibrary.org

Thank you to The Mark Twain Forum and all its members for sharing their
knowledge and bringing Twainiacs together.
www.TwainWeb.net

Thank you to The Mark Twain Journal, for promoting Stormfield and Redding in
Volume 44. www.MarkTwainJournal.com

Thank you to The Mark Twain Project, for access to Sam's letters. Your work
has allowed for the research that fuels us all to keep searching and
sharing. www.MarkTwainProject.org