Police search for suspects after vandalism at Hartford’s Mark Twain home

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - The Mark Twain House in Hartford was vandalized three times over the last three weeks.

The latest incident happened Tuesday night.

“We are still trying to recover from the pandemic, so to have this happen when that’s also a problem for us, it’s terrible,” said Pieter Roos, Executive Director Mark Twain House.

Police said they have been looking for the suspects.

Windows were covered up after they were shattered by rocks and bricks.

“The rocks were inside the house. They were pretty small but they had broken five different planes of glass and thrown five different rocks,” Roos said.

More than five windows were shattered on what’s known as the House Conservatory.

Some of the bricks were still inside as of Wednesday afternoon.

Museum officials said they even had to cut their tours short because there could still be glass on the floor.

They said the first incident was on Dec. 23.

Five windows were broken at the time.

Crews then fixed the windows, but on New Year’s Eve the vandals came back and broke some of the same windows.

They returned again Tuesday night to damage more of the property.

“This is a serious financial problem for us at this point between conservation, and window breaks, and enhanced security, this is probably costing us about $15,000 to $20,000,” Roos explained.

Officials believed it was the same three people, and those bricks and rocks were from the property.

“It’s distressing,” Roos said. “This is one of the state’s best, most important historic sites in terms of bringing in tourists from out of state. We had a travel writer out of state as well writing from travel magazine. It’s just not a great look to have a vandalized site.”

“It’s always a concern when there is vandalism. Especially with one of these amazing buildings, I think that its too bad and I am truly hopeful it will stop,” said Karen Fisk, executive director, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.

Fisk directs the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center located just steps away from the Mark Twain House. She said she is worried the piece of history she protects could be next.

“It’s important for history to maintain these beautiful buildings, but more important than that are the messages that writers put out into the world,” Fisk said. “I think that both Twain and Stowe were all about community and how important it is to work together.”

Hartford police were on scene to patrol the property on Wednesday night. Anyone with information was asked to give them a call.

Officials said it will cost more than $15,000 to repair the damages.

The Mark Twain House set up a Go Fund Me page that can be found here.

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