Mark Twain finally gets recognition in Nevada with vote to name Tahoe lake cove for him

Mark Twain finally gets recognition in Nevada

RENO, Nev. — Mark Twain is finally getting some recognition in the state where he assumed his pen name as a newspaper reporter.

The Nevada State Board on Geographic Names has voted to name a Lake Tahoe cove near Incline Village for Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain’s real name. The name now goes to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for final action.

Nevada historians believe the site is where Clemens accidentally started a wildfire in September 1861 while preparing to cook dinner over a campfire.

He later assumed his pen name as a reporter in nearby Virginia City.

Nevada state Archivist Jeff Kintop, a board member, says the recognition is long overdue because there is no geographic feature in the state named for Twain, whose book “Roughing It” put Nevada on the map.