Established in 1864 as a mining camp in the northern Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide, Butte experienced rapid development in the late-nineteenth century, and was Montana's first major industrial city.[4] In its heyday between the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, it was one of the largest cop

Great Falls, Montana. July 31
Mrs. Pond. Great Falls, Montana. July 31
Clara, "Giant Springs." Great Falls, Montana. July 31

Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College courtesy of Kevin Mac Donnell, Austin, Texas.

The area in which Crookston is located was virtually unoccupied during pre-European contact and remained little more than a hunting ground associated with the Pembina settlements until the 1860s. The land in the immediate vicinity of Crookston is not connected with any verifiable Native American or European historic events or circumstances until transfer in the Treaties of Old Crossing in 1863-64.

The opening of the canal at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1855 and the contemporaneous announcement of the railroads' coming had made Duluth the only port with access to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Soon the lumber industry, railroads and mining were all growing so quickly that the influx of workers could hardly keep up with demand and storefronts popped up almost overnight. By 1868 business in Duluth was really booming. "The Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas".

On July 17, Mark, his wife & daughter, and business manager boarded the S.S. Northland out of Cleveland. The next day, they arrived at Sault Ste. Marie, where they spent the night at the Hotel Iroquois (burned down on March 12, 1907).

His first lecture was at the Soo Hotel in St. Ignace. Then Mark & his entourage boarded one of the Arnold Line boats – the T.S. Faxton – headed for Mackinac Island. He spoke at the Grand Hotel on the night of July 19.