Twain House Faces Budget Woes

Posted on June 11, 2008
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Mark Twain House Museum "The lack of money is the root of all evil." – Mark Twain

Ah, if only the Twain House Museum had only paid a bit more attention to Mr. Twain’s wisdom.

It seems the museum is facing a $350,000 financial shortfall. And in this tough economy, that’s a bitter pill to swallow. Thankfully, they’ve received a $50,000 grant from United Technologies Corporation and another $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanitities, but that still leaves a large chasm for the museum to cover before reaching safety.

While a portion of their trouble is traceable to the slow economy, high gas prices and the shrinking number of visitors to historic sites, according to the Hartford Courant, a portion of the trouble is also of their own making. The museum built a $19 million visitor’s center about five years ago without having any funding lined up. They’ve paid off a big portion of that debt, but are still strapped with $5 million in debt – a portion of which is due this year.

On a happy note, GE and Northeast Utilities are working with the museum to help reduce some of it’s energy costs, including replacing existing lightbulbs with more efficient ones and consulting with them on how to more efficiently heat and cool the buildings. The museum’s utility bills have almost doubled since 2003.

I haven’t been, but the house looks beautiful and I’m a fan of Twain’s. So I hope the museum can work out it’s financial problems and bounce back. I’d hate to see yet another worthy historic site go under.

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