The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
The Beginnings
In 1803, the United States paid France $15 million for 828,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River. Only 16 years later, the enterprising Moses Bates established the town of Hannibal, MO.
The Clemens Family
The allure of this riverboat town fit the dreams of John Clemens, a Tennessee native who was trying, but failing, to run a general store in Florida, MO. John moved his family, including four-year-old Sam, to Hannibal in 1839 and built this house on a piece of land that his cousin purchased.
When the family hit hard times in 1846, they moved across the street to live with the Grant family above their pharmacy. After John passed away in 1847, when Sam was only 11 years old, they moved back to this house. In 1851, Sam's sister Pamela married and moved to St. Louis. Two years later, the remaining Clemens family—Jane and her sons Orion and Henry—moved to Iowa, while 17-year-old Sam took off for solo adventures in St. Louis and beyond.
The In-Between Times
The house was used as rental property until 1911 when it was scheduled for demolition. Hannibal citizen George A. Mahan purchased the house, fixed it up, and donated it to the city for public use on May 15, 1912, just two years after Twain died.
[Photo captions read]
Mr. and Mrs. George Mahan
Dedication on May 15, 1912
The WPA Protects
The museum building next to the Boyhood Home and the stone wall surrounding the courtyard were completed in 1937 by the Works Project Administration. The wall served as a firewall between the Twain property and a lumberyard.
Restoration
The home was fully restored and stabilized between 1990-91. This included rebuilding two rooms at the back of the house that had been removed around 1885.
Reasons To Be Proud
Opened to the public in 1912, the Boyhood Home is one of America's earliest historic homes. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Historic Landmark.
Erected by Mark
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1803.
Location. 39° 42.732′ N, 91° 21.481′ W. Marker is in Hannibal, Missouri, in Marion County. It can be reached from Hill Street. Marker is in the garden between the Mark Twain Interpretive Center and the rear entrance to the Boyhood Home. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 415 North Main Street, Hannibal MO 63401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Missouri’s Mark Twain Country. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mark Twain (a few steps from this marker); Mark Twain's Boyhood Home (within
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Also see . . . Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on July 5, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 5, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 22, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 779 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 22, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2. submitted on July 5, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3, 4. submitted on September 22, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
