Visiting FAQs

The Mighty Mississippi has its (literal) ups and downs. “Flood Stage” does not mean flood. It simply means the river is at or above 17 feet. Our levee, which has protected us for over 30 years, is 34 FEET TALL. There has been NO water in downtown in 50 years, well before the levee was built. The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is dry, open, and excited for your visit, as are all the other Hannibal attractions and lodgings.

View hours of operation and ticket information.

Your ticket includes admission to two museum buildings, The Interpretive Center and The Museum Gallery. As well as admission to 5 historic buildings: the Mark Twain Boyhood Home, the Huckleberry Finn House, the Becky Thatcher House, the Justice of the Peace Office, and Grant's Drug Store. The Tom & Huck Statue is also maintained by the museum but it is free to visit at the foot of Cardiff Hill.

Each building tells part of the story about how Mark Twain drew inspiration from his time in Hannibal as young Sam Clemens. You will walk in the footsteps of Sam Clemens and learn about the people and events that later showed up in various books.

Advance tickets are not required, but they are available for purchase through our website if that is more convenient for you. Walk in tickets can be purchased at the start of your tour, at the Interpretive Center, 415 North Main Street, or at The Museum Gallery.

The tour is all self-guided, so you can move through the buildings at your own pace. We usually recommend setting aside at least an hour and a half to two hours to be able to see everything. If you're the kind of museum goer who has to stop and read every label, you're definitely going to be here longer. 

You can pause and pick up your tour at any point, so if you want to take a break for lunch, shopping, or a riverboat ride, you're more than welcome. Additionally, if one day is not enough time for you to see everything, any member of our staff can mark your tickets as good for the next day as well. We like to make sure you have every opportunity to absorb all of the Mark Twain information you could want!

Unfortunately due to the historic nature of some of our buildings, there are two places that are not fully accessible.

To access the first floor of the Boyhood Home, there are two stairs, and then there is a flight of stairs to get up to the second floor. In Grant's Drug Store, there are accessible exhibits on the first floor, but a flight of stairs leads up to the second floor. In both buildings, there are video tours of the exhibits for those unable to access all parts of the tour.

There are two self-operated lifts along the tour to aid in accessing some areas,, but the locations listed above are not accessible at this time.

• Mark Twain Home Foundation Members receive free admission.
• The museum Is free for residents of Hannibal, Missouri.
• The museum is free for active military and their family members. Veterans also receive discounted admission.
• The Mark Twain Boyhood Home has a reciprocity agreement with The St. Joseph Museums, The Toy & Miniature Museum in Kansas City, and History Museum on the Square in Springfield Museums.

Unfortunately, we don't at this time. It is something we are working on so we will share updated information when that is available.

No, they are self-guided tours. We do offer a guided option for group tours for an extra fee. 

During the winter, Hannibal can experience snow and ice storms. For the safety of the visitors as well as our staff and volunteers, we may close early when storms are expected, or close for the entire day until it is safe for staff and visitors to return. We will post any closings on social media.

Only service animals are permitted inside the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum properties.

Not as part of the museum tours.

There are youth ambassadors who portray Tom and Becky. They can be found strolling the historic downtown on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from the spring into the fall and major festivals. Learn more about the Tom & Becky Program.

From May through October there is a Mark Twain performance by local actor Jim Waddell in the Museum Auditorium every Thursday - Sunday at 4 pm. The performance is free to the public, with or without a museum ticket.

Learn more about Hannibal area attractions.

The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum properties are operated by the Mark Twain Home Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation, funded by admissions, gift shop sales, and donations.

There is no direct state or federal involvement and tax dollars do not support the museum.

The Boyhood Home, Old Museum, and the Tom and Huck statue are owned by the City of Hannibal and leased to the Mark Twain Home Foundation. The rest of the properties are owned by the foundation.

The stone wall was constructed as a fire wall between wooden buildings and a lumber yard. The masonry was a continuation of the WPA project that erected the stone museum building next to the Boyhood Home. The buildings being protected in the 1930s are now gone leaving the big wall.

The Boyhood Home of Mark Twain was given to the City of Hannibal in 1912 and opened to the public on May 15 of that year, making it one of the earliest preserved historic home museums in the United States.