ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the historic properties of the Johnson County Historical Society in Coralville, Iowa; and the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. Historic house museums possess unique characteristics that both support student learning and create barriers for visits. But because the physical spaces of historic house museums and related sites are readily under-stood by visitors, such museums have an inherent advantage in helping students connect the present to the past. The most common form of historic house museum tour consists of a guide leading the group through the house, describing and interpreting the historical significance of the rooms and objects on the tour. The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford is in many ways typical of historic house museums associated with an important figure in American life and culture. Historic house museums and related sites are almost always connected to specific people, whose biographies become central to the site interpretation.
