HANNIBAL, Missouri — The Becky Thatcher House, one of several structures throughout Hannibal that are part of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, recently reopened after a major restoration.

The house, across the street from the early boyhood home of author Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, was home to Laura Hawkins, who Twain said was the real life inspiration for his fictitious Becky Thatcher, the love interest of Tom Sawyer.

The reinvigorated Becky Thatcher House gives a glimpse at life in the 19th-century Midwest, and visitors can assume the roles of Thatcher, Sawyer, Jim and Huckleberry Finn.

Among the new artifacts, graphics, media and interactive exhibits are custom images of Twain’s characters throughout the house created by local illustrator Brenda Beck.

www.marktwainmuseum.org