The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is located on 206-208 Hill Street,

Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion County, Missouri, Marion and Ralls County, Missouri, Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,108, ...

, on the west bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in the United States. It was the home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as author Mark Twain, from 1844 to 1853. Clemens found the inspiration for many of his stories, including the white picket fence, while living here. It has been open to the public as a museum since 1912, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on December 29, 1962. It is located in the Mark Twain Historic District.

Buildings

The Boyhood Home is one of nine properties that comprise the present Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum complex. The legendary whitewashed fence of

Tom Sawyer Thomas "Tom" Sawyer () is the title character of the Mark Twain novel '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawy ...

borders the property. There are seven additional museum buildings as part of the complex - the Interpretive Center, Becky Thatcher House, Huck Finn House, J.M Clemens Justice of the Peace Office, Grant's Drug Store, the stone

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA) building that houses a gift shop, and the Museum Gallery, located at 120 N. Main St. The museum has acquired the "Becky Thatcher" house, home of Clemens' childhood sweetheart, Laura Hawkins. Its exterior was renovated and restored in 2010; while the interior re-opened in 2016. During the summer of 2006, the museum completed work on a replica of the "Huck Finn" house, being the home of Tom Blankenship, the boy upon whom Twain based the character of

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

. Exhibits in the Huck Finn House delve into Hannibal's history with slavery. The museum also owns and maintains the Tom and Huck Statue at the foot of Cardiff Hill. Erected in 1926, it is one of the earliest known statues erected to honor fictional characters. Other highlights of the museum properties include the Boyhood Home garden area, bordered by a high stone wall built by the WPA. The close proximity of the Mississippi River, the Mark Twain Cave, and other settings found in Twain's novel lure thousands of visitors to the museum each year.

Collections

The museum's collection includes many first editions by Mark Twain, numerous personal items (including his

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

gown), the only known surviving white suit coat, and a vast array of Twain memorabilia, such as the death mask of his baby son Langdon, and a jewelry box Twain had hand-carved in Italy to his specifications as a gift to his wife, Olivia. There are many interactive exhibits including a replica stagecoach and river raft. These serve to highlight specific books by Twain: ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'', ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'', '' The Innocents Abroad'', ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twain's m ...

'', and ''

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 historical novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court ...

''. Visitors can even sound a real steamboat whistle as they look out upon the Mississippi River. The museum also houses the second largest collection of original

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

paintings. These paintings were commissioned as illustrations for a special edition of ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''. The museum also hosts regional art and touring exhibits.

Events

The museum sponsors many events throughout the year including children's events. Their educational outreach programs include teacher workshops, young author workshops, writers workshops, scholarly conferences, and a creative teaching award. On May 15, 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the museum, a spokesperson announced the establishment of the "Mark Twain Lifetime Achievement Award" with

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' while studying at Denison University. H ...

named as the first recipient. In 2011 the museum released '' Mark Twain: Words & Music'', a double-CD benefit telling Twain's life in spoken word and song. The project was produced by

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

award-winner

Carl Jackson Carl Eugene Jackson (born September 18, 1953) is an American country and bluegrass musician. Jackson's first Grammy was awarded in 1992 for his duet album with John Starling titled ''Spring Training''. In 2003, Jackson produced the Grammy Award ...

and released on

Mailboat Records Mailboat Records is an independent record label established in 1999 by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett after his vanity label Margaritaville Records was absorbed by Island Records when they were sold to Universal Music Group, owner of Bu ...

. It features

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

as narrator,

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

as Mark Twain, and Angela Lovell as

Susy Clemens Olivia Susan Clemens (March 19, 1872 – August 18, 1896) was the second child and eldest daughter of Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain, and his wife Olivia Langdon Clemens. She inspired some of her father's works, at 13 ...

. Singers include

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Doyle Wayne Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducte ...

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanne ...

, Bradley Walker,

, The Church Sisters,

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

Brad Paisley Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His first success came in 1997 as the writer of David Kersh's "Another You (David Kersh song), Another You". After this, he signed with ...

, Marty Raybon, Val Storey,

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...

, and

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

. Cindy Lovell, the executive director of the museum at that time, wrote the narrative, and several new songs were written for the project. In the summer, the museum is the destination of thousands of visitors. The town of Hannibal celebrates National Tom Sawyer Days over the 4th of July each year complete with whitewashing and frog jumping contests. The boyhood home is a focal point in these events.

References

External links

* *
Webcam showing Boyhood Home''Writings of Mark Twain'', broadcast from the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's ''

American Writers The Lists of American writers include: United States By ethnicity *List of African-American writers *List of Asian American writers, List of Asian-American writers *List of Cuban American writers, List of Cuban-American writers *List of Egypti ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum National Historic Landmarks in Missouri Historic American Buildings Survey in Missouri Historic house museums in Missouri Museums established in 1912 Quincy–Hannibal area Mark Twain Museums in Marion County, Missouri Twain, Mark Twain, Mark 1912 establishments in Missouri Houses in Hannibal, Missouri Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Missouri Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Missouri Twain, Mark Boyhood

Buildings

Collections

Events

See also

References

External links