Are you aware there is a little village in Missouri with the name of Florida that happens to be famous? Every year, people from all over the world travel there to pay homage to the remarkable, adored native author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain , who wrote “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” in addition to numerous other books, articles and stories. In 1835, Twain was born in Florida in a two-room frame cabin which has been preserved and is on display at the Mark Twain Birthplace Memorial Museum. Exhibits at the museum portray his interesting life and many of his works, including first editions and a handwritten manuscript of Tom Sawyer. In honor of Twain, a red granite monument has been erected on the cabin’s original site.

In 1960, the museum and a research library became part of the Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site . Today, a nearly 3,000 acre park surrounds the site where you can picnic, hike and camp. Mark Twain Lake provides visitors with Tom’s and Huck’s favorite activities: swimming and fishing. Be sure to book a nice place to stay, perhaps in one of Missouri’s small towns like Anniston. Hotels are available in other nearby locations as well.

When Mark Twain was a little boy, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, located on the Mississippi River. It was his life there that inspired his stories about Tom and Huck. His home on Hill Street, a few blocks from the west bank of the river, has been preserved as the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. The home is a National Historic Landmark. Seven other buildings are maintained as part of the museum where, for almost two hours, you can live in the world Twain created for his famous characters. Picket fence whitewashing, anyone?

The city of Hannibal embraces its famous son with a plethora of activities every year, but this year is named “The Year of Mark Twain 2010.” Why? It marks the 175th anniversary of Twain’s birth, the 125th anniversary of the publication of his novel about Huck Finn and the 100th anniversary of Twain’s death. On April 21, the actual day in 1910 that Twain died, Hannibal will honor that anniversary with celebrations, programs and events.

This year is the ideal one to visit Florida and Hannibal (aka “America’s Hometown”). Immerse yourself in what was a big part of Twain’s world.

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