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