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Hannibal to St. Joe by by Renée Gordon
By the “Way of American Genius”
Missouri’s “Way of American Genius”, a 200-mile stretch of road that winds from Hannibal to St. Joseph, is also known as Highway 36. Following this route allows travelers to see where notable personalities were shaped, become immersed in time and delve into both the fact and fiction of legendary lives and accomplishments. A great place to begin your adventure is in Hannibal, the early home of Mark Twain, whose incisive wit took aim at the America of his time. Born in 1835, Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, was born in Florida, Missouri. His family relocated 30-miles to the port city of Hannibal in 1839 and Clemens lived there until the age of seventeen. In 1844 they moved to what is now the Boyhood Home where the family lived in a constant state of financial instability and were forced to sell their only slave, Jennie, as a result. His father died and he was forced to leave school in 5th grade to help support the family. His years growing up in Hannibal strongly influenced his writing and autobiographical glimpses can be seen throughout his works. #VisitHannibal
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum complex is made up of several original sites including the J. M. Clemens Justice of the Peace
Office, Becky Thatcher House, the reconstructed Huckleberry Finn House, Grant’s Drugstore and the Interpretive Center. The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 more than forty years after it opened as a tourist site. The single story home, on Hill
Street was built in 1844 and was originally only three rooms. Later three rooms were added as a second story. Self-guided tours reveal a typical home of the era furnished appropriately. The restored white fence is adjacent to the house. The Mark Twain Museum and Interpretive Center offers a self-guided tour of its outstanding gallery and collection. The collection includes his writing desk and chair, a bronze casting of his right hand, and a signature white jacket. The two-story structure displays, within a series of rooms, memorabilia, photographs, personal items and fifteen Norman Rockwell original paintings. Other items of note include original manuscripts, several first editions and more than fifty-five of his personal letters. www.marktwainmuseum.org
Laura Hawkins was the inspiration for Becky Thatcher and her home was across the street from the Clemens’ home. She was younger than Sam but they were playmates in childhood, remained in contact as adults and on his final visit to Hannibal in 1902 they met again. Laura married and moved away but upon the death of her husband she returned to Hannibal. It is possible to tour the house and experience the exhibits.
People are familiar with the line, “I’m your Huckleberry,” from the movies and Twain found the original Huckleberry in his childhood friendship with Tom Blankenship. Tom was, as described by Twain, as a boy whose “liberties were totally un-
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By the “Way of American Genius”
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By Renée S. Gordon Freelance & History Writer
restricted”. He became the model for Huckleberry Finn, one of literature’s most recognized characters. Blankenship’s home was razed in 1911 and reconstructed in 2006.
Exhibits inside the Huckleberry Finn House relate the history of the Blankenship family and slavery in Missouri.
Twain’s father, John Clemens, was a lawyer prior to moving to Hannibal and once there he became Justice of the Peace. His office was relocated from its original location and situated near the boyhood home in the 1950s. The office features a courtroom.
Grant’s Drugstore dates from 1836 and was partially assembled in Ohio prior to being shipped to Hannibal. The home, also known as the Pilaster House because of the exterior columns, became the home of the Clemens’ family in 1846 when they moved in with Dr. Grant and his family. John Clemens died here in 1847. It is outfitted as an early drugstore and interprets the time Sam lived there.
Jim’s Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center is Hannibal’s newest museum. The one-room, native stone, structure was built by enslaved people in the 1830s and is the oldest functioning building in the city. The museum interprets the African American history of Northeast Missouri and honors the life and legacy of Daniel Quarles, the model for Jim in Huckleberry Finn. Sam spent summers on his uncle’s farm where he met the enslaved Daniel and listened as he told stories. Probably as a result of his encounters with Daniel, and the fact that he later wed a dedicated abolitionist, he is considered to have been one of the first authors to create a multi-dimensional African American character. www. jimsjourney.org
There are more than 6,000 caves in Missouri and one of most visited is The Mark Twain Cave Complex. A 60-minute guided tour is offered. It is an easy walk and visitors can see signatures of Mark Twain and Jesse James. The James Gang hid there after a bank robbery in 1879.
Joseph N. McDowell was a doctor who routinely dissected bodies stolen by grave robbers in his anatomy classes. The practice was not socially acceptable, he needed to work in seclusion and so in 1840 he purchased a Hannibal cave to establish a lab. In 1849 his beloved daughter Amanda died and he stored her in a vat of alcohol and suspended her from the cave ceiling so he could communicate with her. Local children were said to have seen the body. Residents eventually forced him to bury her. He later became Surgeon General of the Confederate Army of the West. He died in 1868.
In a theater adjacent to the cave Mark Twain “Live” is presented. The one-hour production introduces audiences to the life, wit and wisdom of the author. www.marktwaincave.com
One-hour narrated cruises are available aboard the 400-passenger Mark Twain Riverboat. You can take to the river as Tom and Huck did and view Lover’s Leap as you learn the story. Refreshments are sold on board.
In 1935 the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse was erected in Cardiff Hill Park. After climbing 244 steps to an overlook visitors attain an outstanding view of Hannibal and the Mississippi River. At the bottom of Cardiff Hill stands a bronze statue of Tom and Huck. It was constructed in 1926 and is situated near the lighthouse and Main Street. Laura Hawkins was present at the dedication as was a visiting Molly Brown of Titanic fame.
“Unsinkable” Molly was born in Hannibal and was, in fact, returning home aboard the Titanic. The Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum is located in Hannibal and is open for tours.
Hannibal has been named “One of 10 Best Places in the USA to Sleep with a Ghost” and the city has been featured on major networks. Haunted Hannibal Ghost Tours, a guided bus tour, features a history-based ghost tour with several stops and an opportunity to participate in a ghost investigation in a cemetery. Every story showcased on the tour is unique. The tour ends at the notoriously haunted Old Baptist Cemetery. Members of the 54th Colored Troops are interred here. The most unique gravesite is that of a female with a large headstone that reads “enslaved” and the name of her owner. This tour is a must!
Mark Twain was born in 1835 just as Halley’s Comet appeared in the sky. The comet appeared again in 1910 as Twain died of a heart attack.
Road Reads:
Twain’s The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson and the Comedy of Those Extraordinary Twins is a southern tale of the exchange of a black enslaved baby with a white privileged one and the ensuing events. It reflects the dilemma slavery presente For more on Missouri >Click Here
By Renée S. Gordon Freelance & History Writer
Experience the Vibe of St. Joe
Missouri is nicknamed the “Show Me State” and true to the state’s name St. Joseph is showing us the history of westward expansion through the preservation of authentic sites, cultural attractions and oral histories. French explorers and traders are documented as being in the region in the 1700s. Joseph Robidoux III was born 1783 and lived in St. Louis until the mid-1790s when he joined a group of fur traders sailing up the Missouri River to the area now St. Joseph’s. He established several trading posts until 1826 when the American Fur Company issued a non-compete clause and bought him out.
In 1826 he was hired to erect a post in the Blacksnake Hills, now St. Joseph. His business thrived, employing a group of Frenchmen and trading with Indians settled in the vicinity on ground considered sacred and conflict free. Robidoux platted the town in 1843 and began selling plots of land. It quickly became a hub for settlers rest and restock.
When gold was discovered in California in 1848 travelers came from everywhere to the port town to cross the river and continue their journey.
Constructed in the 1840s-50s the city’s oldest building and historic apartment building west of the Mississippi was built by Joseph Robidoux. The 1½ story, seven brick apartment building, was originally home to families who were waiting construction of their homes on purchased lots. Later the apartments were rented to individuals waiting to cross the river who were beset by bad weather or other conditions. There were several communal outdoor privies and individual stoves for heating. In 1868 Robidoux passed away in his private apartment.
The restored building functions as a museum and the Saint Joseph Historical Society. Exhibits in the museum depict how the rooms would have been furnished originally. Other galleries display artifacts and memora-
bilia from Joseph Robidoux, the early history of St. Joseph, the fur trade and westward expansion. Tours are self-guided.
In 1859 Robidoux drove the final spike into the western rail terminus in the city. This combination of rail and river appealed to the founders of the legendary Pony Express and on April 3, 1860 twice weekly service began from St. Joseph to Sacramento, California. The company had 400 horses and 200 riders, the youngest being 11years old. Riders carried 20-pounds of mail and were equipped with lightweight saddles and a mochilla in which to carry the mail over the 10-day route. Relay stations, to exchange horses, were placed every 10-15 miles and home stations every 100-miles. The Pony Express functioned only from April 1860 until October 1861.
The Pony Express Museum is a phenomenal immersion into the world of express riding. Moment in Time is a life-sized diorama that depicts the inaugural ride of the Pony Express on April 4, 1860 at 7:15 pm from the stable that now houses the museum. Exhibits interpret the history of the institution, the riders and the topography over which they rode. Two other featured exhibits are a fully outfitted settlers wagon and a photo gallery of the riders. Tours are self-guided or docent led. Stop in the gift shop for great souvenirs. Annually the National Pony Express Association hosts a commemorative ride on the historic route. More than 750 riders participate.
Patee House opened in 1858 as a 4-story, 140-room luxury hotel. From 1860-61 it was the Pony Express headquarters. In 1865 John Patee was forced to sell by lottery. He purchased 100 tickets and won it back. In 1888 it was renamed the World Hotel and Jesse James’ wife stayed there for 2 days after his murder and the investigation of his death was held there. It is a National Historic Landmark and huge museum. Each thematic gallery is like a time capsule filled with portraits, documents and artifacts. Highlights of a visit are Portraits of the Old West, a vintage carousel, an Overland Stage, a replica street and a piece of rope from a lynching. Dedicate several hours to visit this museum listed as one of the Top Ten Western Museums in the country. ponyexpressjessejames.com
Attached by a short walkway is the Jesse James Home Museum, the site of his death on April 3, 1882. While straightening a picture on the wall he was shot from the rear in the head by Robert Ford. The restored single-story home was relocated here, two blocks from its original site, for greater access. It is decorated with original and period furnishings. The home is 24-ft by 30ft. and consists of four rooms. On display are photographs, personal items and objects obtained during his exhumation in the 1990s. The showpiece of the museum is the bullet hole in the sitting room wall. An orientation is given as you enter for a self-guided tour.
St. Joseph Museum complex containing Glore Psychiatric Museum, Black Archives Museum, Doll Museum and Native American and History Galleries, is situated inside the 1879 Victorian Wyeth-Toole Mansion. stjosephmuseum.org
In 1968 the estate of Orrel Andrews purchased five dolls and in 2011 the 1,600- piece collection of dolls, dollhouses and toys became part of St. Joseph Museums, Inc. The collection relates cultural, historic, ethnic, gender and leisure time history.
State Lunatic Asylum No. 2 began in 1874 with 250 patients. One hundred-four years after employee George Glore created exhibits about treatment of the mentally ill beginning in the 17th-century the Glore Psychiatric Museum was founded. Currently the museum is recognized as “one of the 50 most unusual museums in the country” and has been featured on several channels including PBS and Discovery. Displays include surgical treatments, patient artwork and unique cases.
Henry George gathered one of the largest and most impressive collections of American Indian objects in the region. It consists of 4,000 items dating from pre-European contact and is heavily focused on basketry.
Established as the KneaVon Black Archives Jewell Robinson founded the Black Archives Museum in 1991. In 2002 it became a member of the St. Joseph Museums, inc. The museum presents the history On the 80th anniversary of the Pony Express the
Pony Express Monument was unveiled. The statue captures the exuberance and hopefulness of the era. Take a photo and experience the vibe. stjomo.com
of St. Joseph’s African American’s beginning with Joseph Robidoux and the French pioneers. An authenticated letter has been located of correspondence between Robidoux and pirate and slave trader John Lafitte in which Robidoux asks to purchase 5 nursing babies and 20 French-speaking mulatto slaves. Exhibits progress through the Civil War, Civil Rights, Desegregation and Music. A signature exhibit is on the 40-year career of Coleman Hawkins, the Father of the Tenor Sax. An 8-ft. statue of Hawkins stands on a 3-ft. pedestal in Coleman Hawkins Park. Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival is held annually in June in the park.
Newsman Walter Cronkite was born in 1906 in St. Joseph. Cronkite was America’s premiere journalist and CBS Evening News anchor for 19 years. The Walter Cronkite Memorial is located on the campus of Missouri Western State University in Spratt Hall Atrium. Highlights of the memorial are a timeline of Cronkite’s life, photographs, caricatures and a video monitor with clips of historic broadcasts. Visitors can experience the excitement of being in a CBS newsroom in a replicated studio.
The best surviving extant set of late-nineteenth-century warehouse and commercial structures in the state are a designated historic district known as Wholesale Row. The area once housed 170 factories because of its access to rivers, rails and roads. Located inside one of these rehabilitated red brick High Victorian Italianate structures is Boudreaux’s Louisiana Seafood & Steaks. The 2-ton bar is a showpiece built in Philadelphia circa 1870, disassembled and brought west in 1871. The menu is sizeable and filled with culinary, Cajun, delights. When in St. Joseph this a superior dining option.
