Bragging Rights

We’re proud to boast that Mark Twain Country is home to:

• The National Soaring Museum with the world’s largest sailplane collection
• Harris Hill, the “Soaring Capital of America,” and training site for the worlds’ largest youth soaring club
• Elmira College,  ranked Top 10 by US News and World Report “America’s Best Colleges,” for 15 consecutive years
• A rich historical legacy that includes the Underground Railroad, Revolutionary War, Civil War and Women’s Rights
• Woodlawn Cemetery, final resting place of such notables as Ernie Davis, first African American to receive a Heisman Trophy;  Hal Roach, film & TV producer of such classics as Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy; John W. Jones, former slave who aided in the escape of over 800 slaves; and Mark Twain, American writer and humorist
• Mark Twain Golf Course, an original Donald Ross designed course named the #1 Best Kept Secret by Golf Digest
• Eldridge Park with the Mark Twain miniature golf course, dragon boats, and one of the world’s fastest carousels
• The Mark Twain Study,  American’s most famous literary landmark
• Woodlawn National Cemetery—final resting place for over 3,000 Union and Confederate soldiers of the Civil War
• New York State’s largest concentration of registered Victorian-era homes

In addition, the following notable Americans claim Twain Country as their childhood homes:

• Tommy Hilfiger, Fashion Designer & Icon
• Eileen Collins, first woman astronaut to command a space shuttle
• Hal Roach, Academy Award winning film & TV producer who created such shows as Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang with the Little Rascals
• Brian Williams, NBC News Anchor & Managing Editor
• Ernie Davis, first African-American athlete to win a Heisman Trophy