Inside Mark Twain's Head
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum Recounts His Childhood Experiences Leading To Novels Such As The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
For a little town on the Mississippi River, Hannibal, Missouri, has had an out-sized influence on American literature. Samuel Clemens, known to the world by his pen name, Mark Twain, spent his childhood there, and shared those years in his landmark novels, “The Adventures of Mark Twain” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
“People are surprised to find out how much his stories are based on real people and places,” Henry Sweets, executive director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, tells The Buzz. “They come here looking for Twain’s inspiration. That’s our goal, to bring the stories to life for visitors.”
In addition to the Boyhood Home, the museum oversees four other historic buildings that played a part in the life of young Sam Clemens, who lived in Hannibal from ages 4 to 17. Besides Twain’s Boyhood Home, now a National Historic Landmark, admission tickets include entrance to Becky Thatcher’s House, the Huckleberry Finn House, J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office, and Grant’s Drug Store, plus two museum buildings.
“The Boyhood Home is the building that Twain describes at Aunt Polly’s house where young Tom lived with his cousins, characters actually based on his own siblings,” Sweets says. Visitors can see the crack in the floor, the window Tom crawled out of, and, of course, the famous whitewashed fence. All the episodes were drawn from Clemens’ own youthful experiences.
“Twain used real people he knew in Hannibal for his inspirations,” Sweets says. “Becky Thatcher, Tom’s sweetheart, is based on a girl Clemens was sweet on, Laura Hawkins, who lived right across the street. She lived into her 90s and was always known around town as Becky… it’s even on her tombstone.”
Huck Finn was also based on another childhood friend, a boy named Tom Blankenship, the actual “juvenile pariah” of Hannibal. Blankenship’s brother, Bence, smuggled food to a runaway slave on Johnson’s Island, an episode that made its way into Twain’s novel.
“In our museums and historic houses, you can meet the family and friends that feature in Mark Twain’s stories, find out about his school, about his time as a river pilot, about the impact of slavery, and about the printing industry, where Sam Clemens got his start in publishing,” Sweets says. Interactive exhibits let visitors experience Huck’s raft ride on the river, whitewash a fence, and ride in a stagecoach based on Twain’s book “Roughing It.” Statues of Mark Twain and his fictional characters recreate scenes from the books throughout the complex.
The museums have an extensive collection of memorabilia as well. “My favorite item is the gown Mark Twain wore in 1907 to receive an honorary degree from Oxford,” Sweets says. “That was the crowning jewel of his career.”
Other items on exhibit, according to Sweets, include an original white suit worn by Twain and many first editions of the author’s works. The museum also has an extensive collection of artworks used to illustrate various editions, including 15 original Norman Rockwell paintings for “Tom Sawyer” and “Huck Finn” based on actual Hannibal residents and locations.
“A lot of what Twain describes in his novels about life in Hannibal was true,” Sweets says. “The schooling was the same, the churches Tom attended were the same. Cardiff Hill is a real landmark, as are the Great Cave, where Tom and Becky got lost, and, of course, the Mississippi River, where Tom and his friends go swimming.”
Today’s visitors can visit many of these same landmarks, climbing the 244 steps up Cardiff Hill, described in “Tom Sawyer” as a “Delectable Land,” for a stunning view over the Mississippi; exploring Johnson’s Island; and taking a ride on the Mark Twain Riverboat to relive Sam Clemens’ time on the river. The Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site, where Clemens lived till the age of 4, is an easy 40-mile drive away in Florida, MO.
“Hannibal’s newest museum is Jim’s Journey, named for the character in Huck Finn,” Sweets says. “It takes a look at the black heritage of the area, and introduces Dan Quarles and other black people who influenced Mark Twain.”
One of the most popular stops for visitors is the Mark Twain Cave, a tourist attraction since 1886, today a complex that includes a winery and a campground, as well as tours of the caverns where Tom and Becky wandered. Actor Jim Waddell performs a one-man stage show at the cave during the summer season, exploring the inspirations behind “Tom Sawyer” and Twain’s other works.
“Most of the incidents in ‘Tom Sawyer’ have a basis in things that happened in his childhood,” Waddell says. “I like to say that he didn’t write fiction. He was an exaggerator of the truth.” Waddell’s show ranges from anecdotes about Twain’s school years, to his days aboard the Mississippi riverboat and the colorful vocabulary he encountered there.
According to Henry Sweets, as soon as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was published in 1876, the residents of Hannibal realized their town had been immortalized, although under the fictional name of St. Petersburg. “During Twain’s lifetime, people were proud to have known him,” he says. “They rolled out the red carpet every time he came back to visit.”
For more than 60 years, the town has celebrated Twain’s legacy around the Fourth of July with fence painting and frog jumping contests, periodic entertainment and fireworks. Every year, 7th grade boys and girls from Hannibal schools compete to portray Tom and Becky for the year. Visitors often encounter the childhood sweethearts roaming the streets of Hannibal’s historic downtown, reenacting scenes from the book. According to Henry Sweets, the scene isn’t a whole lot different today from what it was in Twain’s day.
“Hannibal is still a lot like he described it in the books,” he says. “Mark Twain was one of the most recognizable figures in the world, and he never forgot where he came from. And Hannibal hasn’t forgotten him.”
Renee Wright
A graduate of Franconia College in Social Psychology, Renee has worked as Travel Editor for Charlotte Magazine and has written three travel guidebooks for Countryman Press among other writing assignments. She enjoys food and camping.
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