During our spring, 2018 travels, in May we spent a few days in the Hannibal, Missouri area. We went first to Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site near Florida, MO. The small two-room cabin birthplace of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) in 1835 is now preserved inside a modern museum. An assortment of artifacts from other aspects of Clemens life, as well as many photos and books, are located there. In 1839 the Clemens family family moved to Hannibal, MO. Samuel's childhood adventures along the Mighty Mississippi later served as the basis for his stories about Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and others. The authors pen name "Mark Twain" was first used in 1863. In Hannibal, several historic properties related to Mark Twain are preserved and open as a self guided tour. All attractions are included in one ticket price. The Main Street Museum included 15 original Norman Rockwell paintings, as Rockwell was illustrator for some of Twain's novels.
Moored along the Mississippi River was Mark Twain Riverboat, which offers cruises with narrative commentary on river history, etc of the Hannibal area (Clemens had been a riverboat pilot himself, piloting on the Mississippi River for about 4 years prior to the start of the Civil War.
(I liked this painting located in the Hannibal Museum, so will use it as my photo this time)
