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    Centralia Historical Society

    4.0 (1 review)

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    9 years ago

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    The State Historical Society of Missouri

    The State Historical Society of Missouri

    4.5(2 reviews)
    21.1 mi

    A free gallery of local history and Missouri fine art from the past is inside the historical…read moresociety on campus, and there is also art displayed on the walls in the halls. I learned that Brad Pitt went to Mizzou! It is a small collection, but it works well together, with multiple pieces by the same artists. Stop by if you are on campus. It is in the same building as the library, but with a different entrance.

    I have enjoyed having this art gallery/library/archive in my backyard, but I never really used it…read more I mean, it was only for folks researching their geneology or something, right? Well, when it came time that I needed to do some digging around for local Missouri lore related to square dancing, I did a little checking on their website and as Emeril says, BAM!, they cooked up exactly what I needed. The best part was, it was free. I mean, I guess my taxes are paying for it, but the folks who work there are really helpful, they actually seem like they want to assist me, and they had all this equipment for me to use when I needed to listen to some cassette tapes and even some reel-to-reel audio. Of course, there were some weird things I had to get used to. No pens. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zed. But I could carry around electromagnets, no problem? Anyhow, that being said, I had to get used to other archivist rules (keep everything that was in a folder, actually keep it in the folder). But since they deal with one-of-a-kind stuff, and they don't want to lose anything, this makes sense. I wish I had a reason to delve into their archives earlier, now this place is on my list whenever I have any inkling to learn something about Missouri history.

    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum - Tom Sawyers House and white fence

    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum

    4.5(46 reviews)
    54.0 mi

    Museum is cute and I got a good deal on Groupon for my whole family. We happen to visit during the…read moreTom Sawyer festival which may the experience more fun. It's not accessible for wheels due to all the stairs, and some of the spaces are small, where you get to walk into the rooms; but it was a good place to cool down in the heat and learn about history and Tom Sawyer. I toddler did walk into the windows, a couple times that separate the historic items from the walk spaces, but he is fine. I definitely recommend a stop for anyone in the area to learned about Mark Twain in that time.

    A different and very interesting look at the life of Mark Twain…read moreWhile visiting Hannibal, we decided to visit the Mark Twain Museum located just down the street and south of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home. I would definitely recommend seeing both because, even though they cover much of the same history, they present the life of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, in very different ways. The Boyhood Home lets you actually walk through the places connected to his childhood while this museum, instead, uses a large number of well-done displays and interesting artifacts to tell the story of the different parts of his life. The exhibits take you from his early years and stories through his time working on Mississippi River steamboats and his travels overseas. They show many of these experiences eventually became part of his writing. There are some interesting and unique items on display that were important in his life, which helps make him seem like a real person rather than simply the famous author we know from his books. Be sure to go upstairs while you are there. There is some very nice artwork on the upper floor along with additional exhibits that would be easy to miss if you only looked around downstairs. We spent quite a bit of time going through the displays and found it to be an excellent companion to the Boyhood Home. Overall, it was well worth the visit and added considerably to our understanding of both Mark Twain and Hannibal. If you are interested in the author, his books, or American history, I would definitely recommend visiting both museums. After you're finished, I also highly recommend walking across the street to the chocolate shop for a treat. Enjoy!

    Photos
    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum - Sam Clemen's room

    Sam Clemen's room

    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum - Thatcher home

    Thatcher home

    Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum

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    Centralia Historical Society - landmarks - Updated September 2026

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