Downtown in St. Louis, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Teenager Samuel Clemens

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2017

1. Teenager Samuel Clemens Marker

Inscription. “The first time I ever saw St. Louis,
I could have bought it for six million
dollars, and it was the mistake of my
life that I did not do it.”
Across Fourth Street from this location, teenager Samuel Clemens set type for the St. Louis Evening News in 1853. At different times, Clemens lived on nearby Pine, Locus and Chestnut Streets. He later became the greatest humorist in American literature, Mark Twain.

”If you send a damned fool to St. Louis,
and you don’t tell them he’s a
damned fool, they’ll never find out.”
--Life on the Mississippi
Discover Saint Louis

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1853.

Location. 38° 37.688′ N, 90° 11.266′ W. Marker is in St. Louis, Missouri. It is in Downtown. Marker is on North 4th Street near Locust Street (Federal Reserve Bank Plaza), on the left when traveling north. Marker is mounted at eye-level, directly on the Security Building at this address, near the northeast corner of the building, facing east toward 4th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 319 North 4th Street, Saint Louis MO 63102, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (within shouting distance of this marker); The Security Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Merchant Laclede Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); William Tecumseh Sherman (about 400 feet away); William Clark died at this site (about 400 feet away); The Mississippi Valley Trust Company (about 500 feet away); Rue Quicapou (about 600 feet away); Site of the Democratic National Convention of 1876 (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Louis.

More about this marker. Marker is a large metal plaque, mounted within a decorative polished granite frame.

Also see . . . Samuel Clemens and the Printed Word. By May of 1853, when Sam resolved to quit working for essentially nothing at his brother Orion’s hand-pulled, half-starved Hannibal Daily Journal and seek a job instead where this potent technology was ﬂourishing, the St. Louis production plants around Leclede’s Landing were deploying automatic sheet feeders and high-speed cutting and folding machines. In 1853, on Locust Street near the harbor, the ﬁrst stereotype plant west of the Mississippi had opened for business. Mark Twain’s involvement with the American publishing revolution, which began in earnest when he was a child,

Security Building (<i>northeast corner view; marker is visible just left of corner door</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2017

2. Security Building (northeast corner view; marker is visible just left of corner door)

absorbed him professionally and imaginatively as a teenager and continued to obsess him as a reporter, storyteller, traveling entertainer, author of books, entrepreneur, and international celebrity. (Submitted on August 27, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Security Building (<i>wide view looking south along 4th Street; marker visible at right</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2017

3. Security Building (wide view looking south along 4th Street; marker visible at right)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 27, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.