The first planned stop on my trip from Kansas City to Michigan was Hannibal, Missouri. But before reaching Hannibal I spied a sign reading: Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site.
One of America's unique and best-loved personalities, Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, was born in a rented cabin that once stood in the small town of Florida, Missouri. That cabin is now preserved inside the museum at the Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site. The site and surrounding state park stand as a tribute to the author-humorist.
Details of Clemens' remarkable life are interpreted through exhibits and audio-visual programs at the museum. The museum also features first editions of Mark Twain's works and a handwritten manuscript of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
When Halley's Comet was in the heavens in 1835, Samuel Clemens was born, and when it returned in 1910, he died. He always predicted that he would "go out with the comet."
