Home Sweet Home

Our visit to Hannibal was a return from many years past. During our first trip, we had our children in tow, so our energies were spent corralling them. On this turn, the time would be spent refreshing ourselves on the life and times of one of America’s most well-known authors. There is no better place to start than at the beginning. A stop to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum would provide us plenty of background and dust off the cobwebs since our last visit. Samuel’s younger days were filled with illness (from being born prematurely), but this didn’t prevent him from testing his mother’s patience. While good-natured at heart, the boy was prone to mischief.

Girl Friend or Girlfriend?

Across the street from the Clemens’ home sits the house of Laura Hawkins. Samuel drew life for his literary characters from people he had met in real life. Laura was Sam’s classmate, playmate, and even childhood sweetheart. He would immortalize her as the character of Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He would even name one of his characters in The Gilded Age by Laura’s given name. Clearly, she made a lasting impression on him.

Tight Times

Sam’s father, John Marshall Clemens, was an accomplished attorney and judge. He also happened to be a bit of a gambler, but his game of choice was investments. He began various retail business ventures, but all ended in failure. In 1846, due to financial difficulties, the Clemens family was forced to leave their home on Hill Street. A family friend, Dr. Orville Grant, offered the family a place to stay at his home across the street. Being in a tight spot, they took him up on his offer. As we toured the home, which is on the second floor of the pharmacy, we wondered how they could have all fit in this cramped space.

A Short Childhood

At the age of 11, Samuel’s father would pass away from pneumonia. With an already strained financial situation, this loss pushed them to the edge. Sam would leave school and begin a long string of various careers. Time spent as a typesetter put him in touch with the literary world, which he would visit time and again. Growing up along the river’s edge is where Twain meets his true passion. It’s not hard to imagine that a young boy wouldn’t become enamored by the riverboats plying the waters. Such was the case for Sam, who would fulfill his dream of becoming a steamboat pilot.

Where Twain Meets

After paying a fee to learn the ropes, he began his study of the Mississippi River. While the caption of one of these vessels had great responsibility, it was the pilot who commanded more esteem. To be a successful pilot, one had to become acquainted with every snag and sunken tree along the waterway. When piloting along the river, depth checks would be shouted out to the pilot. A level of “Mark Twain” meant that the water was 12 feet deep, which was a safe amount for a steamboat. Hearing this phrase was where Twain meets the pen name that he would use for many of his literary works.

Conflicting Signals

During Samuel’s youth, the country was still split between slave-holding states and free states. Living in Missouri, slavery was a norm that he grew up with. His witness to the brutality of it left him with a disdain for the unfair treatment doled out on all people of color. During our stay in Hannibal, we had an opportunity to visit the Huck Finn Freedom Center, which focuses on the plight of slaves in this region. With the guidance of director Faye Dant, we learned about the wins and losses that have been seen by the black community over the years. This eye-opening attraction helps piece together the journey that an entire race of people have made as they incorporated themselves into the heartland.

Fast-Forward in Time

Lest you think that Hannibal is solely about where Twain meets his future, there are also plenty of other things to capture the attention of visitors. Perhaps you are one of those road-warriors who wandered off of Route 66 looking for adventure. You will certainly be wanting to drop in Karlock’s Kars for a peek at his collection of classic vehicles. This eye-popping emporium is also home to a vast array of pop culture items that we immediately recognized from our youth. We are betting a visit here will open the floodgates of nostalgia for many of you. Of course, if you have your kids (or grandkids) in tow, there may be a lot of explaining to them about the significance of the pieces.

Historic Sights

While the downtown is filled with memories of where Twain meets his now-famous characters, there are some other sites worth checking out around town. To get a bird’s eye view of Hannibal, we journeyed up to Lover’s Leap. From that vantage point, visitors can watch the Mississippi River roll by on its way to the Gulf. The Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse is another great place to get some great views. While you are still on the Twain Trail, be sure to check out some of the hidden spots where his characters came to life. The Old Baptist Cemetery will have you picturing Tom Sawyer skulking around the gravestones.

Where Twain Meets Eats

All of this exploring certainly left us with an appetite. Fortunately, Hannibal is filled with plenty of edible options. During our visit, we enjoyed a meal at the town’s oldest restaurant, as well as a couple of more recent additions. Your taste buds are sure to be pleased with the variety of cuisine choices that can be found. All of the places we dined at were within easy walking distance of the main city’s attractions. There were plenty of other places to dine, but you know we can only eat so many times a day.

Cast of Characters

Exploring downtown Hannibal was like a walk back in time. The spirit of the characters from Twain’s stories still resides in the buildings and streets of this river town. While the days of Samuel’s youth are long gone, it is easy to see how the rolling Mississippi would certainly capture the imagination of the boy. Perhaps the next great American author is awash in the imagination of childhood, even as we write this article.

Get To Know Twain’s Hannibal

Hannibal, Missouri is filled with the memories of the characters brought to life by Mark Twain. Almost every building has some connection with his stories, so it was easy to completely immerse ourselves in this past. It certainly took us back to our younger days and gave us moments to pause in childhood play. We hope that you have an opportunity to visit this town to walk the paths that were trodden by Samuel Clemens and his band of childhood friends. Who knows, you may even want to take a turn at whitewashing Tom’s fence.

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Mark Twain Dinette

Driving into Hannibal from the north, one of our first views of downtown included a huge spinning mug. This iconic sign signals the presence of one of the oldest restaurants in town. Since 1942, Mark Twain Dinette has been serving locals and travelers alike. They are a member of the Maid-Rite family, which got its start back in 1926. Their specialty has been loose meat sandwiches, which were developed by a butcher named Fred Angell. Of course, each restaurant puts it’s own spin on the line and usually includes a few extras to boot.

River Town Tastes

The Mark Twain Dinette stands out from local competition with the addition of frosty mugs of homemade root beer. Man, it really hit the spot on a hot summer day. It was also the perfect accompaniment for our meals. We would rank the Dinette as a semi-fast food joint. Diners enjoy table service, but the menu is designed to get the meals to diners quickly. For those on the run, they also have car-side service outside. One visit is not nearly enough to really explore their vast menu. We hope to stop in again and check out their version of the “Horseshoe”. (This was a dish we discovered in Springfield, Illinois)

Due Amici Pizzeria

No matter where we are exploring, a slice of pizza always sounds good. As we were checking out the downtown shops, we spotted this hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Seeing that it was approaching lunch time, Due Amici Pizzeria sounded like the perfect fit. Stepping through the door, we found a lot of gangster-era décor. It was obvious that this was one of the newer restaurants in town, so we decided it would make a good contrast to our visit to the Dinette.

Pizza Gangster Style

The menu at Due Amici is pretty simple, as all pizzerias should be. Since we both love pepperoni, the Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti was the perfect choice. They describe it as “Tommy Gun rounds of pepperoni” and we would have to agree. While we waited for our pie to bake, we checked out some of the photos that hung around the joint. We know that the Midwest was a haven for many of the gangsters of the 1920s. We have even stayed in a hotel used as a hideout by Al Capone. We just didn’t realize that Hannibal had its own dealings with the mob, but we can understand that they were probably wanting some river town tastes for themselves.

Wayne BBQ

No self-respecting Kansas Citians would pass up an opportunity to check out the local BBQ scene. It seems like there are a few barbecue options in Hannibal, but we decided to sample the dishes at Wayne BBQ. What started as a food truck has morphed into a brick-and-mortar that features plenty of smoky choices. Stepping inside, we were intoxicated by the smell of hickory and sauce. It smelled a little like home. We loved that they played off of the historic brick walls of the old downtown buildings. They have even incorporated it into their décor design.

Midwest is the Best

When taste-testing a new BBQ joint, we appreciate that they offer a variety platter of some type. Wayne’s does one up with four meats and two sides. You can add a couple of additional sides for a small charge, and it really helps to get a true vibe for their cooking style. It was hard to say which of the meats we liked the most, as each has it’s own good qualities. Having plentiful amounts of smoked turkey, beef brisket, pulled pork, and ribs meant that we could really get the full experience. You can imagine how difficult it was to stop eating, even though we knew we were already full. That is why we always take a cooler on our trips, so we can bring home some local treats.

Eating Our Way Through Hannibal

As you can see, we only scratched the surface of the dining options in downtown Hannibal, Missouri. With so many river town tastes to experience, we would have to stay for a month to make a real dent. Hopefully, you will clue us in on some of the ones you have discovered in Mark Twain’s home town. The city has so many historic sites to explore, that it will surely leave you hungry for sampling some local eats. Just be sure to leave a little for our next visit. Bon Appetit!

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Lover’s Leap

The name of Lover’s Leap is not uncommon across America. An internet search quickly identifies about two-dozen such sites. That doesn’t make this high ridge south of town any less impressive. Just a short drive from Karlock’s Kars brought us to the entrance of the hillside park. Once at the top, we found ourselves about 20 stories above the Mississippi River. The tales that surround these types of overlooks usually include a love-struck pair of youths. Such is the case for the one in Hannibal, as well. A native Indian brave falls in love with a princess from an opposing tribe. Both tribes forbid their love, and this story was sure to end badly. After being pursued by others from one of the tribes, the pair of lovers throw themselves from the cliff, as a sign of their enduring love.

Tom’s Cemetery

It is generally regarded that Twain’s tales have a basis of history behind them. This means that there must be sites where he gained his inspiration. One of the memorable scenes from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in a graveyard. Many people have done a lot of research to determine which Hannibal cemetery would have been the inspiration. Most feel this designation goes to the Old Baptist Cemetery, but there are others who doubt this. According to old maps, there was another cemetery that would have resembled the “old-fashioned Western kind” which Twain alludes to in the book. In our heads, we pictured the Boot Hill Cemetery we visited in Dodge City, Kansas.

Larger than Life

As we explored the Old Baptist Cemetery, it became apparent that it held many stories. It seems that the hidden history in this graveyard took place on or before the Civil War era. Since this historic war took place in the 1860s, it would have been years after Clemens was a boy. There are other gravestones, half-buried and faded with time, that predate the war. Some of these go back to the early 1840s, which would have been during Clemens’s boyhood days. As we scouted this hilltop memorial park, our thoughts turned to the amazing tales that each grave held.

Resting in Peace

Cresting the hill, we found a couple of gravestones that had weathered the test of time a little better than the others. These were the graves of two Civil War soldiers who died on a nearby battlefield. Care had been taken to clear away the unkempt grass, and each had a small flag placed at their base. Even after over 150 years, people are still keeping a watchful eye over our departed veterans. We continued exploring the graveyard but found many stones were broken and battered with age. As dark fell, we decided that further investigation would have to wait for another visit.

River Tales

While there are many hidden history stories in Hannibal, others stand out in open. The Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse sits high atop a bluff overlooking a bend in the river. The original structure was built in 1935, on the 100th anniversary of Clemens’ birthday. The original was devastated by a windstorm in 1960, but this replacement was constructed in 1963. While it is not an operational lighthouse, it’s presence is a reminder of the quiet, yet powerful flow of the nearby Mississippi River.

Hidden History

It didn’t require a lot of detective work to uncover all of this hidden history. There are many more tales to be told about this unique river town. Those looking for a family-friendly escape can make their plans for a visit to Hannibal, Missouri. The spirit of Mark Twain is alive today and the locals welcome visitors to come to explore. You are sure to find plenty of opportunities to create some of your own stories. Safe travels!

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We want to thank the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum for hosting our visit. Rest assured all opinions are our own.

Drawing from Life

Mark Twain disguised himself as a character in many of his novels. Pulling from his childhood memories, he crafted Becky Thatcher from a boyhood friend named Laura Hawkins. Laura lived across the street from Clemens and the house has been preserved as part of The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. Inside, we discovered that a museum that not only covers her life, but also the lives of children during the mid-1800s. Much like Tom and Becky, Clemens and Hawkins were childhood sweethearts.

Accidental Introduction

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a series of comical and exciting events that take place in a boy’s life. Early in the book Tom first catches sight of Becky. Even though he doesn’t yet know her name, he is determined to capture her attention. His attempts at showing off fail in his eyes, but they are things that readers can relate to on a personal level. After all, how many of us acted a little crazy when we found ourselves infatuated with someone? 

Becky Thatcher House

It was early in our visit to the Becky Thatcher House that we discovered the connection with Laura Hawkins. It must have been quite interesting growing up across the street from Samuel Clemens. During my research, I found comments made by Laura in subsequent years. Her vivid memories of Samuel shows the impact he made on her. She recalled how their first meeting involved Clemens attempting to show off, much like Tom does for Becky. Clearly, he freely used his memories to build the stories he would share with the world.

Life in the 1800s

As Clemens builds out the characters in his book, the class disparities become apparent. Huck Finn, the vagabond friend of Tom, has no responsibility. Tom envies Huck’s freedom from living a structured life, while overlooking the uncertainties that Huck faces. As a way to highlight the inequalities of life in the mid-1800s, Clemens uses Aunt Polly’s young slave, Jim. Here we see a life that has no control of his own destiny and has his life decisions controlled by another. The same disparity can be found in each of the boy’s duties and daily activities.

Distinct Differences

As we made our way through the displays at the Becky Thatcher House, we found that the exhibits are designed to help showcase these inequalities. It was nice to see that these were not done with a heavy hand, but instead allowed the visitor to come to certain conclusions on their own. For instance, the home or lack thereof that each of the children had to bed down in each evening. Although Tom was jealous of Huck’s seemingly free lifestyle, he still had the comfort of knowing where he would sleep each night.

School’s in Session

Education was another place that the disparity of class shone it’s light. Becky and Tom would each enjoy the opportunity for an education. Jim, being a slave, was not afforded this option. Huck, being a vagabond, was against the idea of any formal education, even if it was readily available. Clemens was drawing from life experiences when he created each of these characters. Spending his childhood days in Hannibal allowed him plenty of subjects to use for inspiration.

A Different Time

The museum displays include some other eye-opening information. Over the generations much has changed in the style of education. In the mid-1800s, corporal punishment was an acceptable way to grab the attention of a misbehaving youth. Seeing the forms of punishment that were doled out on the children was one of those cringeworthy moments.

Kids will be Kids

Moving through the Becky Thatcher House, we came to a display on the games children played in the mid-1800s. While some of the names were familiar from our own youth, others were a little foreign. All-in-all, while the games changed with time, it was still dependent upon the use of imagination. This commonality is why Clemens books have stood the test of time. It is easy for readers to relate to the subject matter and characters actions and motives.

Tom & Becky

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer make stars of Tom and Becky, who capture the heart of readers. To play off of this, the Hannibal Chamber of Commerce created a program that allows boys and girls to compete to be ambassadors for the city. Each year, a selection panel chooses from the field of seventh graders in the local schools to represent the essence of Tom and Becky. This fun program has recently been moved to the oversight of the Mark Twain Museum. During our visit, we were fortunate to meet the 2020 Tom and Becky and watch them perform a short skit. 

Taking Our Turn

Tom Sawyer captured the essence of childhood in a way that few novels have done. The stories of his escapades and adventures are still as entertaining to read. You know that a book has made an impact on you when you cannot wait to have a chance to whitewash the picket fence. Of course, it didn’t cost us a kite or any of our marbles. I guess we got the best of both worlds.

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We want to thank Faye Dant for hosting our visit. Rest assured all opinions are our own. 

Freedom Center

While COVID has temporarily stifled the Huck Finn Freedom Center, we were able to arrange a tour through Faye Dant, the Executive Director. Faye is a local, who is a fifth-generation Missourian, and her passion for this center is easily apparent. The Freedom Center has dual purposes, as it focuses on preserving the history of the African-American community in Northeast Missouri. They celebrate the contributions while recognizing the strife and sufferings that impacted so many lives. They also honor Daniel Quarles, a Hannibal local, who would serve as Twain’s resource for Jim.

Slavery in the New World

Missouri entered the Union, as a slave state, in 1821. Even at that period in time, the issue of slavery was rising to the forefront of American politics. During the process of establishing statehood, Northern politicians attempted to introduce legislation that would have called for the slow abolition of slavery in Missouri. The Missouri Compromise was introduced as an effort to maintain a balance between abolitionist and proslavery forces, in the Union. While this pacified both sides, for the time being, it would eventually lead to the Civil War, when Kansas was admitted as a free state. Our visit to the Missouri State Museum had taught us about that period of Missouri history and the ongoing work to triumph over oppression.

Hannibal’s Early Economy

By the time Missouri became a state, slavery was deeply embedded in American culture. Opening the lands of the Louisiana Purchase meant that many slave families were broken apart, as slaves were brought west to the newly settled lands. When you consider the land clearing and farming done by these early slaves, it would be fair to say that they were the real settlers of the land. By 1850, nearly 25% of the population in Hannibal was made up of African-American slaves. Hannibal’s position along the Mississippi River made it a hub for the slave trade. All of this was the world around Samuel Clemens during his youth.

The Real Jim

In his later years, Clemens would recollect that the character of Jim was based on a man named Daniel Quarles. Clemens would interact with Daniel, during visits to his uncle’s farm in nearby Florida, Missouri. The segregated lessons he learned as a youth would eventually be replaced with compassion for all men. After the Civil War, Twain would become an advocate for equality, as he realized America must embrace it to truly move forward and triumph over oppression. Unfortunately, public opinion is a hard nut to crack. An excellent example is Joe Douglas, who fought his whole life with people believing him to be the basis for the character Injun’ Joe.

Church Life

Today we are familiar with our civil liberties, but African-Americans in the 1800s struggled with oppression. In Missouri, the law prohibited their ability to gather in large groups, unless supervised by a white person. The formation of churches went against this regulation, but many blacks were willing to hazard the consequences in order to worship. Although the churches were founded by free men, a large portion of the congregations were slaves. Their time at church was one of the rare instances of socializing.

Triumph Over Oppression

After the end of the Civil War, African-Americans found themselves entering a new era, but one that was filled with the same hatred as before. The Jim Crow era would see America segregate the newly freed slaves from the white population. Although they had won their freedom, this period would become extremely dangerous for blacks. Scattered throughout the media and inside of businesses, you would find widely distributed racist propaganda. By painting a picture of an uneducated populace, it made it easier to exclude African-Americans from the rights afforded to white citizens. This segregation included the requirement of separate schools and even precluded them from using the same water fountains.

Worthwhile Work

Our visit to the Huck Finn Freedom Center had shone a light on the changes that have occurred within our country. Much like Samuel Clemens, people are waking up to the brutal realities that most African-Americans have faced their entire lives. It will take all of us working together to squash the smoldering embers of racism that still haunt our country. We find that places like the Freedom Center help remind us that although we have made strides, there is still a considerable gap that needs to be closed if we are to triumph over oppression. We hope that you will consider visiting the Huck Finn Freedom Center after the restrictions of this pandemic are lifted.

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We want to thank the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum for hosting our visit. Rest assured all opinions are our own.

Mark Twain Museum

To help us peel back the myth from the man, we traveled to Hannibal, Missouri. This river town is where you can find The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, which offers a deep dive into the life of Samuel Clemens. Let us start by pointing out that Mark Twain was the pen name used by the author. Over time, he became so synonymous with it that many people never learned his real name. The Twain Museum is designed to help teach visitors how Clemens’ stories have real life application that transcends the time period in which they were written. 

How It Began

Samuel Clemens was ushered in by a recent appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1835. This once every 75 year celestial visitor would star in more than one notable role in Clemens’ lifetime. His father was a judge who moved the family to Hannibal in 1839. By the mid-1840s, the family had settled into Clemens’ boyhood home. While Sam was one of seven children, only four made it through childhood. His father’s death, in 1847, would lead to Sam dropping out of fifth grade to become a printer’s apprentice. Much like Abraham Lincoln did, Clemens became self-educated by doing extensive reading in public libraries. While storytelling would become his path to fame, his first love was the river.

Growing Up in Hannibal

Clemens wrote that he and his comrades had one ambition, which was to become a steamboat pilot. In his writings, Hannibal would become St. Petersburg. Here he would cavort with his childhood chums as their antics would become legendary. The Mississippi River provided hours of exploring, as did a nearby cave. Both would play prominent roles in his stories. One of Clemens most famous books, Tom Sawyer, would include characters based on his real life boyhood friends. This man of many names wrote the role of Tom based on many of his own real life experiences.

The Innocence of Youth

During Sam’s youth, his family went through a series of hardships. As with many children, the realities of life are often unnoticed. Slavery was still practiced in Missouri and as a youth he came to accept it. Later in life, Clemens would become an outspoken advocate for Black rights. While his parents were not slave owners, he had family members who were. Summers spent at his uncle’s farm introduced him to stories told by enslaved workers. These too would be added to his tales in the future.

Familiar Faces

The lively characters created by Clemens have become household names for generations. Huckleberry Finn, a lovable oaf, was based on Tom Blankenship. The son of the town drunk, Tom was referred to by Clemens as “ignorant, unwashed, and insufficiently fed”. He lived an independent life, which made him the envy of the other boys in Hannibal. Another character inspiration was Injun Joe. Modeled after a loafer around town, the boys in town found him to be an inexhaustible source of amusement. Probably the best known character was Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer’s sweetheart. She was based on Laura Hawkins, a childhood friend of Sam’s.

Lessons Learned

Sam Clemens’ youthful spirit would turn him into a man of many names. His time as a riverboat pilot taught him the phrase “mark twain”, which signified waters deep enough for a boat to traverse safely. It made an appropriate pen name for him to use in the future. He became so synonymous with this name that his image is often recalled under this moniker, instead of his real name. Although he served at a variety of occupations, it was storytelling where he shined the greatest. Many of his stories were based on his own escapades.

A Man of Many Names

As we made our way through the Mark Twain Museum, the similarities between Clemens and his characters become more obvious. Sam was fond of traveling and his talent afforded him plenty. Often his journeys were paid for by publications looking for his stories. These trips took him to the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawaii), Europe, and the Middle East. His marriage in 1870 would find him resettling to the east coast. During the last portion of the 1800s, Clemens would write his most famous books. This spurt would include the publication of  five major books; The Adventures of Tam Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi, The Prince and the Pauper, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

Getting Into the Spirit

As we pointed out earlier, Samuel Clemens was born just after an 1835 visit by Halley’s Comet. In April of 1910, the comet made another appearance. Sam had predicted that since he came in with the comet, he would also go out with it. Sure enough, one day after the comet made it’s closest approach to earth, the author passed away. Our visit to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum had taught us a lot about the life behind the literary works. Now it was time to continue our deep-dive by visiting some of the other buildings. What is your favorite Mark Twain story?

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