Have you ever seen a landlocked lighthouse? Missouri’s Mark Twain Hannibal Lighthouse in Hannibal, Missouri is just that. It is the only lighthouse ever built inland. Standing atop a hill, it has 244 steps to the top, where there is a great view of the town of Hannibal and the Mississippi River.
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Missouri’s Mark Twain Hannibal Lighthouse was built in 1935 in celebration of writer Mark Twain’s 100th birthday. There were a lot of events going on for the celebration, and the lighthouse was designed to give light for all of them.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt came and lit it for the first time. This was not the only time a President has lit the lighthouse; in the 1960s President John F. Kennedy relit it after it was remodeled in 1963, and President Bill Clinton relit it after yet another remodeling job in 1994. (In 2002 more work was done, and it is now handicap-accessible.)
The lighthouse is designed to honor Mark Twain and to be a symbol of the adventures in his books. Mark Twain Hannibal Lighthouse was never used as a lighthouse to guide boats. Visitors come from all over to see the lighthouse without water. It is a wonder.
