The question of where Mark Twain camped on the shore of Lake Tahoe, a tale  
told in two chapters of Roughing It, has inspired the Gatekeeper’s Museum  
in Tahoe City to host the "Mark Twain Tahoe Mystery Public Festivity" 
featuring  presentations by two authors with competing theories. The event will be 
held  outdoors at  the museum on Thursday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m. in Tahoe 
City,  Calif. After each speaker's initial 15-minute statement, the audience 
can ask  that author questions. Then, following the authors' five-minute 
closing  statements, there will be a general question session with both 
authors. 
The event, which kicks off a summer-long public opinion poll about the two  
possible sites, will be June 21 at 6:30 pm at the Gatekeeper’s Museum.  
When then-Sam Clemens and a partner came from Carson City to Lake  Tahoe in 
September, 1861, to stake a timber claim and get  rich, Clemens developed a 
great love for the  lake. Later, as Mark Twain, he never identified the site of 
his claim,  which he never proved-up. The exact location of their camp  is 
in dispute. 
The two authors have offered differing theories of Twain’s  1861 Lake Tahoe 
campsite location. Robert Stewart, in his privately-published,  100-copy 
book “Finding Sam Clemens’ Cove at Lake Tahoe, Nevada”, pegs a  site south of 
Sand Harbor State Park in Nevada. David Antonucci, in  his Amazon book “
Fairest Picture”, pinpoints a site near Speedboat Beach in  California. 
Michael O'Malley will moderate, with Lauren O'Malley as timekeeper. A $10  
donation is suggested for non-members. The Gatekeeper’s Museum is located in 
the  log cabin next to Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City. The event is free for 
members of the  North Lake Tahoe Historical Society. 
Bob Stewart