Inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival Celebrates Adair County's Literary, Historical Roots
Speakers spin tales that connect famous author, Kentucky heritage.
COLUMBIA, Ky. (06/22/2026) — Area residents had the rare opportunity to hear from a Revolutionary War hero, a medical pioneer and one of the greatest American authors on Saturday, June 20, at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival.
Held at Lindsey Wilson University, the event featured seven speakers who celebrated the art of storytelling, local history and Mark Twain's ancestral ties to Columbia.
Twain was born in 1835 in Missouri as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but his mother, Jane Lampton Clemens, was born on June 18, 1803, in Columbia. She married John Marshall Clemens in May 1823 in Columbia. The couple moved to Tennessee before settling in Missouri in 1835.
The Mark Twain Storytelling Festival was the brainchild of students in Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock's arts administration class, who presented their idea for an annual cultural event for Columbia-Adair County to Columbia Mayor Pamela Hoots.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
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Lindsey Wilson University theatre professor Robert Brock portrays Mark Twain at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Columbia resident Darlene Franklin Campbell tells the story of Columbia native Jane Lampton Clemens, the mother of Mark Twain, at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson University’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Columbia resident Richard Phelps depicts Col. William Casey, a Virginia native and Revolutionary War hero who led the first group of settlers into what is now Adair County. Casey was also Mark Twain’s maternal great-grandfather. The Mark Twain Storytelling Festival marked the debut of Phelps’ portrayal of Casey, which was presented at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson University’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Susan Bennett of Lexington, Kentucky, depicts medical pioneer Jane Todd Crawford at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson University’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. A Virginia native, Crawford was living in Green County, Kentucky, when she and her husband, Thomas, rode 60 miles on horseback to Danville, Kentucky, to allow Dr. Ephraim McDowell to perform the world's first successful ovariotomy on her on Christmas Day 1809. The Mark Twain Storytelling Festival celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Award-winning storyteller Ray Mendenhall of Versailles, Kentucky, opens with a song during his performance at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson University’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Author, folktale scholar and award-winning storyteller Mary Hamilton of Frankfort, Kentucky, tells the audience the story of a remarkable dog at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson University’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Standing in front of the Field House, Adair County native and historian Mike Watson wraps up the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival with a history of the Field House and the Lampton and Clemens families on Saturday, June 20. Located on Reed Street, the Field House was where John Marshall and Columbia native Jane Lampton Clemens lived after they were married in 1823. The Mark Twain Storytelling Festival celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
Columbia Mayor Pamela Hoots, far right, is joined on Friday, June 19, in the Lindsey Wilson University W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital Hall by the four Lindsey Wilson students whose arts administration class project led to the Mark Twain Storytelling Festival. From left: Shiane Lussier ’26 of Bremen, Kentucky; Leif Honaker ’27 of Columbia; Gage Carnes ’26 of Jamestown, Kentucky; Sabrina Ruiz ’26 of Louisville, Kentucky; and Hoots.
Adair County Elementary School teacher Kayla Koerner serves as emcee of the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, at Lindsey Wilson University’s V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.
A reception in the Lindsey Wilson University W.W. Slider Humanities Center on Friday June 19, kicked off the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain’s Columbia roots.