June 28 , 1886: Mark Twain visits Duluth

On this day in Duluth in 1886, Mark Twain arrived on the steamer Empress of India from Buffalo, New York, accompanied by his daughters. He was on his way to visit his mother in Keokuk, Iowa. He stayed at the St. Louis Hotel, but evaded Duluth reporters. Only one story ran about his visit, with the reporter complaining that he may have to “black his face and sling hash at the Hotel St. Louis for a day” in order to catch Twain, who was, “too old a bird to get caught in the chaff.” Could this have been the famous visit, of which Twain said “The longest winter I ever spent was a summer in Duluth”? Nope. We know it is not because he never actually made the statement. He did write about Duluth later in his book Following the Equator, in which he exclaimed, “Health and prosperity to Thee, O Duluth, American Queen of the Alien Seas!” Twain made a more substantial visit to Duluth in July, 1895 So how did Twain become credited with the “Summer in Duluth” joke? Read about that here, and read the entire passage about Duluth from Following the Equator here.

Samuel Clemons, aka Mark Twain. (Image: Public Domain)