Hannibal, MO Summary

Mark Twain fans will recognize parts of Hannibal (population 18,000) from scenes in \”The Adventures of Tom Sawyer\” and \”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.\” Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Twain’s real name) spent his boyhood in this Mississippi River town, midway between St Louis and the Missouri-Iowa border, in the mid-1800s. The town’s residents celebrate their famous son’s fictional creations with dioramas, summertime outdoor dramas, and a life-size monument of his two young protagonists.

The must-see attraction is the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, which dates from 1843. The young Twain lived here for 11 years, until the age of 18. The house has been restored and furnished with period pieces. The museum next door has original manuscripts, photos, and Twain’s writing desk, among other displays. Another highlight is the collection of Norman Rockwell oil paintings that were used to illustrate special editions of Twain’s famous works.

Two miles southeast of town on State Route 79 is the Mark Twain Cave. The nearby Cameron Cave can be explored by lanternlight on 90-minute tours that start at the Mark Twain Cave visitor center (appointments must be made between Labor Day and Memorial Day).

Those who want to steep themselves in Twain lore would do well to visit Hannibal during the week of July 4th, when the town stages the National Tom Sawyer Days. One of the week’s highlights is the fence-painting contest among Tom Sawyer look-alikes.

Hannibal was also the home of Margaret Tobin, better known as “the Unsinkable Molly Brown” after helping save passengers of the ill-fated Titanic. From April to December, the Molly Brown Dinner Theatre offers music revues recalling the 1920s to the 1950s. Other attractions include a well-restored 1898 Art Nouveau river mansion, and a Dixieland riverboat dinner cruise.

Visitors in winter might see bald eagles on the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. A good place to look for them is at the Saverton Dam, 9 miles south of Hannibal on State Route 79. The next 77 miles of that highway, leading to St Peters, is a scenic drive paralleling the river.

The area is serviced by buses. The closest airport is in Quincy, Illinois.