I’ve always wanted to visit Hannibal, Missouri – mostly because of Mark Twain, but also because it’s set on the Mississippi River, and there’s a lot of history and folklore associated with this body of water, in particular. I saw an online auction for the Missouri Travel Alliance last year, and won a two-day package to tour Hannibal.
My husband and I are fans of Twain’s work, particularly “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn.” He read both books to our kids when they were young, and his dad read it to him when he was a boy.
You could spend more time in Hannibal, but really, give it a fast-paced two days and you can see enough to give you a good idea of what’s happening in this old river town. Most of the Twain attractions are downtown, and of course, near the river. Here’s how we did it in late April.
Hannibal Day #1
Mark Twain Cave Complex
We started out early around 8 a.m. and arrived in Hannibal around lunchtime. We went to the Mark Twain Cave Complex and on a cave tour. Not only has this cave been around and in use since before Twain’s time, it holds more than 250,000 signatures – including local notables and Jesse James. In 2019, while shining a light on the cave walls, cave owner Linda Coleberd and a friend found Twain’s signature, which read “Sam Clemens.” Our tour guide assured us that both Twain’s and James’ signatures have been verified by handwriting experts. According to CNN, Coleberd had been looking for a signature from Clemens for a long time. She said, “My single hope has been that someone would find it during my lifetime.” She also said, “Sam knew the cave so well and described it in exact detail. We just knew it had to be in here somewhere.”
If you’ve read “Tom Sawyer,” you’ll recognize the cave as the place where Tom and Becky get lost, and discover that Injun Joe is hiding in the cave.
It’s a dry cave, and a fairly flat walk; the tour lasted almost an hour. One of the highlights of the tour for me occurred when I discovered that Norman Rockwell spent time in this cave. The story goes that after Rockwell was hired to do the illustrations for special editions of the books “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” in 1935, so he wanted to see Hannibal before he worked on the job. Our cave guide told us that Rockwell went to the cave, to the 5 Points area (where five cave pathways meet) because that’s where Tom and Becky had been. Rockwell’s Hannibal guide told Rockwell that he’d be back in an hour or so, and it wound up being six hours because the guide forgot.
Rockwell said he had time to get plenty of material. He then returned to his studio – located in Rochelle, New York – to finish the job and work from the sketches made in Hannibal. No other illustrator of Twain’s works had ever visited Hannibal to see firsthand the sights and sounds of this river town, and what inspired Twain.
Mark Twain Live
After the cave tour, we went into the theater onsite to see Jim Waddell, who portrays Mark Twain, in action with “Mark Twain Live.” Waddell has been portraying Twain for more than 30 years. I noticed that he is included in a port excursion experience for Viking Cruise’s new tour on the Mississippi, when it stops in Hannibal. Waddell’s performance – although only to 4 people on this day, and one had to leave because of a coughing fit – made us laugh out loud at times. The vernacular takes a while to understand, and frankly, I found it refreshing.
Lover’s Leap
After our hour in the theater, we drove up to Lover’s Leap, a five-acre city park on top of a bluff overlooking the river. I brought along a good pair of binoculars and enjoyed the view, especially of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge and Lighthouse.
A memorial onsite to the “Lost Boys of Hannibal” drew me up a bit short. In May 1967, William Francis Hoag, Joel Wise Hoag and Edwin Craig Dowell, who were 11, 13 and 14 respectively, were last seen up here on Lover’s Leap. The boys had been in trouble earlier for going into Murphy’s Cave, especially since at that time it was closed because of road construction above it. It is speculated that they got lost in the cave and died there. You can read all about theories as to why and what happened at blogger Mary Hallberg’s site. As the mom of three boys, it pained me to see this and to imagine the horror of having missing children. To this day, people in the town talk about the “lost boys of Hannibal.”
Hannibal /Walking Driving Tour
While at the cave gift shop, and since the hop-on-hop-off truck tour hadn’t started running yet (Most attractions kick into high gear Memorial Day weekend.), I purchased the book “Hannibal: A Walk through History,” by Dea Hoover. It includes the Twain attractions, and you can either walk or drive this bit, and also a section on “Gilded Age Mansions.” Twain coined the term “The Gilded Age,” hailing from his (and coauthor Charles Dudley Warner’s) book of the same title. At one time, Hannibal ranked as the third richest city in the state of Missouri – because of its port-side businesses and access to this mode of transportation, often dubbed as “America’s first Interstate highway.” When Twain returned as an adult to Hannibal, he was courted by the owners of these mansions and they held posh dinners and receptions for him.
We had dinner at the Brick Oven downtown. It features wood-fired pizzas and pasta, and the cannelloni did not disappoint.
We stayed in a Victorian B&B near the downtown area, the Dubach Inn, which offered suites instead of rooms. We liked its convenience to the downtown area. Note: there are several B&Bs in the area, along with motels that are within walking distance of the main attractions.
Hannibal Day #2
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
You can see, as we did, the Normal Rockwell original paintings at The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. The gallery holds all but one of the original paintings featuring Mark Twain’s characters by Rockwell, and all have been treated (conservation work) by experts at the St. Louis Art Museum so that they can be on display here.
Along with a ticket to see the interior of the museum, which is rich in history about not only Twain, but the Hannibal area, you get passes to visit the following places offsite:
- Huckleberry Finn House
- Mark Twain Boyhood Home
- Boyhood Home Shop
- Becky Thatcher House
- J.M. Clemons Justice of the Peace Office
- Grant’s Drug Store
We visited all of the above, which took a few hours. It gave us more of a perspective – since we’ve both read “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” – into Twain’s life as a boy. Huck Finn’s house, although only a replica, drove home the truths regarding poverty during this time, and about how Huck (whose real name was Tom Blankenship) escaped the misery of abuse and having to sleep on a floor amongst a passel of family members. Possibly, as a result of his childhood, he became a free spirit and also, Mark Twain’s idol.
Mural Walk
Hoover includes a mural walk in her book, but unless you want to hoof it for a few miles, it’s best to drive it.
I am always interested in mural art, so this little side trip didn’t disappoint; Hoover only included the murals done by local artist Bob Allen in her book, though.
If you do the tour, you’ll find more murals by other artists.
Mark Twain Riverboat Cruise
You can’t visit Hannibal without doing a riverboat cruise! The Mark Twain Riverboat Cruise offers two types: sightseeing and dinner.
We took the sightseeing one since it came with our package. The steamboat cruised down and then back up the river for about an hour-long tour. Concessions and a full bar are available and we found great seats on a deck, completed the experience with freshly popped popcorn and sodas, and commenced enjoying the tour. We learned more about Hannibal and saw the Memorial Lighthouse from the river.
We also met a retired couple from southern California who were on day #5 of their Mississippi River tour. They had started at the mouth of the Mississippi in Minnesota, and were on their way next to St. Louis. They planned to wind up in New Orleans.
I noticed that the crew of the cruise seemed really happy to be there. Although they do these cruises day in and day out, they liked their jobs and were frankly good at them. And they were good at making you feel like they were happy to see you – which can be rare these days. Come to think of it, all of the people involved in serving at the attractions seemed very pleased to be there – even the freelance writer who serves as the cashier in the book shop at the Mark Twain Museum.
Two Days in Hannibal
We learned that things start heating up in Hannibal, tourist-wise, starting Memorial Day weekend. During the summer, the city holds all types of events commemorating scenes from Mark Twain’s books, such as whitewashing a fence. You can find out what’s happening at the Hannibal Convention & Visitors Bureau website.
If crowds aren’t your thing, you might consider going in the fall after school starts or wait until next April. Check to make sure the attractions you want to visit are still open.
Side Note: The Gilded Age is No More
I must add that I felt disappointed over the dereliction on display in the city, from residential homes in the mansion historic district to buildings such as this one below, which someone told us once housed the city jail. It is interesting to imagine what they might have been like, and yet sad, to see what they have become.
