Awards and Recognitions

Accredited by the American Association of Museums

• The Mark Twain House & Museum is one of only 750 institutions to receive accreditation since the program's inception in 1970
• The Mark Twain House & Museum was accredited in 1974 and re–accredited in 1988 and 2003
• Accreditation represents operation at high professional standards and practices

1963 – National Historic Landmark. The Mark Twain House was chosen as one of the nation's first National Historic Landmarks. The landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction.

1977 – David E. Finley Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for "exemplary restoration"

2003 – Restore America: A Salute to Preservation. HGTV, the National Trust and event co–sponsor, Comcast Cable, presented a plaque and a $25,000 check to help support restoration efforts currently under–way at The Mark Twain House & Museum as part of Restore America: A Salute to Preservation.

2003 – The Real Estate Exchange 2003 Real Estate award for outstanding cultural achievement.

4/2004 –LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high–performance, sustainable buildings. LEED Certification distinguishes building projects that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability by meeting the highest performance standards. It emphasizes state–of–the–art strategies for site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. The Mark Twain Museum Center is the first museum in the nation, and the first building of any kind in Connecticut, to attain LEED Certification.

2004 – Green Circle Program Certificate from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for promoting pollution prevention, waste reduction, natural resources conservation and/or environmental awareness by design and developing building projects that fulfill leadership in energy and environmental design.