Monday, December 28, 2009

Historic tours of Elmira







Yesterday my husband and I had the opportunity to go on a walking tour of Elmira's Historic Near West Side district. Our private tour was led by Samuel Draper, who has been conducting tours of the district for over 20 years. This area has a high concentration of Victorian and High Victorian homes and churches.

Elmira is also known for its connection to the author Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain). His wife, Olivia Langdon was from Elmira and the Clemens spent their summers here. We even visited the Clemens and Langdon gravesites at Woodlawn cemetery.

Next year (2010) marks the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death. Lots of tours are planned. For more information on the tours visit http://www.historicnearwestside.com/

I am currently working on an article about the tours and Elmira for the Buffalo News travel section which will be published in the next few months.

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