The title is a slight but misleading, as we went through the regular museum and Huck Finn’s house before entering Mark Twain’s, or Samuel Clemens’, childhood home. It was quite interesting visiting a nationally famous author’s old home and the site in which his friend, who was the inspiration for Huckleberry Finn, lived. While walking through the museum, I learned the true reason for Samuel Clemens’s alias being Mark Twain. The true reason for the name was because of his history as a ship pilot. Mark represents the knot at which the water level was measured when the weighted rope was thrown is water and pulled out, and Twain which is the second knot. So when Samuel was at the helm he would hear “Mark Twain!” and know how deep the water was. The name serves as a memory, that was very important to Samuel.
After walking through the museum full of treasures and information on Mark Twain and his writings, we walked up the street to the Interpretive Center. The building had several quotes from Mark Twain’s autobiography, which I now have a copy of, and information on who the characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer were based off of. During the time I spent walking through the historical buildings that were part of the setting of Tom Sawyer’s neighborhood, I could almost see Tom Sawyer running over to Becky Thatcher’s house to try and court her. I could see Huckleberry Finn living in the run-down shack of a house a small while up the hill from the home. It stirred in me the ambition to read even more of Mark Twain’s writing, which I can now do thanks to the purchase of two books. I will share pictures of what I found interesting in the museum, I hope that you find everything as interesting as I did!
We also got the chance to view the St. Louis Arch from across the river, and see just how tall it was compared to buildings in the city. Though it wasn’t the same as looking at it close up, I could imagine the grandeur of going up and down on a tram ride across the arch.
Have a safe night! I will catch you all up as soon as possible, which will probably be three separate posts!
The 6600 Mile Journey 