Hannibal, Missouri.
Hannibal, Missouri is a small town of about 17,000 residents that you will find on the Mississippi River about two hours north of Saint Louis, Missouri. This little town attracts many visitors because of its connection to one of America’s pre-eminent authors.
Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens, was brought into the world in Florida, Missouri in 1835. At the age of four, his family moved about thirty miles (48 km) to Hannibal, and he spent his remaining childhood there, leaving in his 17th year. It is well known that many of the characters in his books were based on people he grew up with in Hannibal.
In his honor, Hannibal reserved a large part of the city as the Mark Twain Historic District. The lighthouse on Cardiff Hill, the riverfront area, and properties on several downtown streets with some 55 buildings are included. From the riverfront, a short walk up Hill Street will bring you to his home. The stories of Tom Sawyer are really the stories of young Samuel Clemens. His house and the area behind Tom Sawyer’s fence are part of a Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.
Directly across the street is the home of Tom’s sweetheart, Becky. These buildings are the “core” of Samuel Clemens’ life, and his alter-ego, Tom Sawyer. The buildings and landscape of this part of Hannibal were described in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” as St. Petersburg. Some of these places also appeared in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. There is a wonderful history of the historic district here.
Around the corner from Tom and Becky’s houses, Grant’s Drug Store building was built in 1836. Also known as the pilaster house, this building was partly built from timbers shipped by steamboat from Ohio. Those timbers were used to create the pilasters, one of which is in the photo above.
The home and museum are located in two buildings. The museum is open daily, but the hours are seasonal. You can visit the entire complex of open buildings for $14 per person at this writing, but if you want the museum only, it’s only $6. Seniors and students get a break, but check the website to order tickets in advance and to check the hours they are open.
Regular readers know that I am a big fan of lighthouses, so I had to include a photo of the nearby memorial lighthouse. Even though it’s a short walk to the lighthouse, we didn’t get time to visit the navigation aid before it was time for our Mississippi River cruise, so I settled for this image captured from the Mark Twain Riverboat.
A future post will focus on our journey on the Mississippi Riverboat, Mark Twain. It’s only a short walk from Tom Sawyer’s home to the river, so it’s no wonder that Samuel Clemens became such a fan of the river.
John Steiner
Flare Legend Adventures
I saw these in 1992 while visiting my ‘brother-in-law’s’ folks 😉 thanks for sharing
They have honored their favorite son well.
I can well imagine the stories coming to life in front of your eyes as you walk those streets and enter those buildings!
In a future post, we visit the Mark Twain Cave that he explored as a boy and told of Tom and Becky and Indian Joe.
“Coming to life” is a perfect way to describe it, Dries.
“Injun Joe” was a very scary character when I was a little boy. Now with the “wisdom” of age I actually feel sorry for him turning out the way he did. I am looking forward to your recollections of the cave!
Indeed, he was scary. Twain was a master at story telling!
Wow, what a great way to relive the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn!
Great job preserving this place, and great captures of the place!
Thanks, Nes. I found the place far more interesting to visit than I expected.
To this day, Twain is one of my favorites. I am thrilled to see his history being maintained.
As am I. He was one of my favorite authors in my youth. I should go back and read them again. I bet I’ve forgotten far more than I remember.
I had a complete set as a kid. So recently, I bought some to reread.
Just to give you a push….
https://www.thriftbooks.com/browse/?b.search=mark%20twain#b.s=mostPopular-desc&b.p=1&b.pp=30&b.oos&b.tile
And they aren’t even that expensive… given the time we are living in now, anyway!
I have gotten hundreds of books from them, and also my father-in-law. On a social security budget, they have been a lifesaver.
Thanks for the tip!
Love this post! We had so much fun exploring Hannibal a few years ago. Thanks for the memories!
Just walking through town brought back so many memories of his books. It is a stop in Missouri that is not to be missed.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m going to look it up on the map right now.
I will have more posts from Hannibal in future posts. Thanks for stopping by.
I’d love a visit here! Firstly, because I always find it fascinating to visit the homes of famous people, and especially authors. And secondly, because I studied Huck Finn at university and of course read Tom Sawyer as a child 🙂 I’m also looking forward to hearing more about your Mississippi cruise!
Many times these “attractions” are less than expected. That is certainly not the case in Hannibal, especially for fans of Twain’s work.
By coincidence I’m about to quote Twain in my LAC post: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
I will look for it! I’ve known the first part of the quote, but didn’t know the last few sentences were from that quote.
My favorite Twain comment:
“Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”
Indeed!
Great history and images John! Very enjoyable.
Thanks, Anne! A truly interesting tourist stop for those interested in the history of the author.
😊
I’ve been there and seen the museum, but sadly, didn’t know one could tour the caves.
Maybe next trip? If you like cave tours, you will enjoy the guide’s stories of the cave history.
I think I read everything of Mark Twain’s…Including Innocents Abroad.
That’s cool. I have only read his most famous classics.