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    Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse

    5.0 (2 reviews)

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    1 year ago

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    Mark Twain Steamboat Pilot Statue - Mark Twain Steamboat Pilot Statue, Hannibal

    Mark Twain Steamboat Pilot Statue

    (1 review)

    Samuel Clemens grew up in Hannibal Missouri, though he wasn't using his pen name of Mark Twain at…read morethe time. He learned the trade of riverboat pilot, earning his pilot's license in 1859 at the age of 23. Clemens had signed on as a pilot's apprentice in 1857 while on his way to Mississippi. He had been commissioned to write a series of comic travel letters for the Keokuk Daily Post, but after writing five, decided he'd rather be a pilot than a writer. He piloted his own boats for two years, until the Civil War halted steamboat traffic. Have a read at one autobiographical chapter: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1875/03/old-times-on-the-mississippi-part-iii/537831/ The caption with this statue of Train reads, "In 1857 young Samuel Clemens began to learn the trade of a steamboat pilot on the Lower Mississippi River. When his piloting career ended with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Clemens went to Nevada Territory where he first used pen name Mark Twin in 1863 while writing for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City. Clemens took the name 'Mark Twain' from the River sounding that indicated 12 feet of water which was safe for navigation. This statue was given to the City of Hannibal by the Schwartz Family of East Hannibal, Illinois, July 4, 2003." The statue is located in Riverfront Park where there is plenty of free parking. [Review 19723 overall - round number 200 in Missouri - 695 of 2023.]

    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum - Tom Sawyers House and white fence

    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum

    (44 reviews)

    This was a great tour! We started off in the visitors center. Then we toured Samuel Clemens boyhood…read morehome. "Becky Thacker's" house was across the street, as well as Grant's drugstore where the Clemens family lived when they were down on their luck. The city has preserved everything well and is taken care of it for posterity and future generations. My wife and I very much enjoyed this tour. We also took the trolley tour through town, which we enjoyed.

    The tour of homes and museum of Mark Twain in Hannibal is a must see. The tour requires walking and…read moresome steps a probably would be difficult with a stroller, wheel chair or young children (although there are some elevators along the route). We did the tour on a Sunday morning. There were very few other visitors. The tour cost $14/person, which I thought was reasonable. Discounted tickets are available for seniors and kids. There is a small interpretive museum at the start that sets the stage for Sam Clement's / Mark Twain's boyhood and life. Parts of the exhibit are interactive. You then visit the Clement home (Tom Sawyer) which is styled with period furnishings and descriptive plaques. Next are visits to homes that inspired characters in his books - Huck Finn's cabin and Becky Thatcher's home. Becky's home has displays and info about the characters in Twain's books, with stories of Laura, the girl who died inspired Becky. There are clerk's along the way to answer questions, some more engaging than others. The tour acknowledges and describes Twain's views on slavery as you enter his father's office and the pharmacy exhibits. The final stop is down the street at a second museum with large interactive artifacts and a floor devoted to art. Along the tour are four gift shops that carry the shirt, books and other Twain memorabilia. The tour took about 2 hours to complete and you can break for lunch in town. There were restrooms in the museums. I learned a lot about Twain and his family and how he became a successful author. The town has been well preserved and run by local businesses. We found free street parking, but I'm guessing that parking is difficult on a busy tourist day. There is more parking behind the museum. This is a great learning experience, especially if Twain was part of your childhood reading.

    Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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