During the long process of restoration we sometimes discover new information about the house, which we need to carefully evaluate to determine if it is a Clemens-era feature or one added by later occupants of The Mark Twain House. The oval interior window is a great example of this process.

Evidence tells researchers that at one point in the history of the house an interior window was prominently featured in the main stairwell, between the main stair hall and Susy Clemens' room. (Pictured to the right, window is visible in far right side) In a 1960 interview, Anne Carolyn Prud'homme, who, as the child of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bissell, occupied Susy's bedroom, recalled an oval interior window in the stairwell. In fact, she said that as a child she used to hide cookies and candies behind a curtain oval sill. The Bissell family lived in the house from 1903 until 1917. A circa 1957 photograph of the location shows an oval window on the interior stairwell wall.

The window was removed from the wall and the area patched and stenciled during the first restoration in the 1960s, as it was believed that the Bissells added the window. During the most recent restoration of the halls and stairwell, we have re-discovered this interesting feature and have examined the physical evidence, such as the construction of the window framing, to determine if it should be restored. At least two pieces of physical evidence indicate that the window was installed when the Clemenses occupied the house, probably during their latter years their.

The framing of the window was nailed using large square-headed cut nails, rather than modern wire nails. By the time the Bissell family bought the house in 1903, wire nails were readily available. The house was wired for electricity for the first time by the Bissells, before they moved in. As shown in the image, researchers found a section of very early electrical wiring coming from below and, as described by architectural conservator, Brian Powell, then turning the corner to travel horizontally to a former electric box to the south of the wide doorway to the east side alcove off the main hall.

Based on the placement and installation of this informative piece of early electrical wiring, Powell concluded that "the wiring was done with the window in place" and, so, was installed during the Clemenses tenure in the house. The opening will be further evaluated to determine how to restore it.