Reunion in Unionville

Before he was Mark Twain, he was a broke prospector here. Samuel Clemens kept a cabin in this canyon over the winter of 1861, chasing silver with little luck, then left for Virginia City and the newspaper job where he took his pen name. The marker's odd title comes later: in 1971 the Clampers gathered for a reunion to remember the spot. Behind it stood the county's first public building, an 1862 adobe schoolhouse used until 1871. The cabin's remains and the school site are what's left to see.

What the plaque says

Across the road and down about 300 feet was the original Unionville School. Built in 1862, this adobe building was the first public structure in Humboldt County. Used by such organizations as the Union League, Knights of the Golden Circle, the Free Masons, and the Ancient and Honorable Order of E. Clampus Vitus, it served the community until its demolition in 1871. Exactly 109 yrs later, members of the E.C.V. gathered here to hold a reunion in commemoration of this propitious event. To the rear of this marker is the site where Samuel Clemens allegedly lived briefly before going to Virginia City in 1862 and taking the name Mark Twain.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Unionville — 3.9 mi
• Star City — 8.8 mi
• Humboldt House — 12 mi
• Applegate-Lassen Emigrant Trail Cutoff — 14 mi