| Twain's Geography

Vermont and Massachusetts RR

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about Vermont and Massachusetts RR

Housatonic RR

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about Housatonic RR

The Housatonic Railroad, originally (mis)spelled as 'Ousatonic Railroad', was chartered in May 1836 to build a line from Bridgeport, Connecticut, north to the Massachusetts state line, along the Housatonic River valley.

North Pennsylvania RR

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about North Pennsylvania RR

The North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County in Pennsylvania.

Lehigh and Susquehanna RR

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about Lehigh and Susquehanna RR

The Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad is a defunct railroad that operated in eastern Pennsylvania during the 19th and 20th centuries. The company was a subsidiary of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company (LC&N).

Quarles Farmstead

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about Quarles Farmstead

A Farm of 240 acres, never referred to as a plantation. John Quarles had owned six slaves in 1840 and eleven in 1850, "many of them too old or too young to have been of much use on the farm." One in particular, Uncle Dan’l, might have been an inspiration for Twain’s character Jim.

Searching for Jim

An archaeological dig at the Quarles farmstead

Searching for Jim

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about Searching for Jim

An archaeological dig at the Quarles farmstead

scott 28 May 2022

Read more about An archaeological dig at the Quarles farmstead

"Finding archaeologist Karen Hunt is kind of a hassle. She’s hidden, sort of like the artifacts she and volunteers dig for during September weekends at the Mark Twain Archaeology Dig. It’s home to the former farmstead of John Adams Quarles, Mark Twain’s uncle. Twain spent summers on the farm, and here he became acquainted with the Quarles’ slaves. One in particular, Uncle Dan’l, might have been the inspiration for Twain’s character Jim."