Hannibal to celebrate Twain statue's centennial

HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) -- A Hannibal landmark turns 100 next year, and the northeast Missouri town is already making plans for the centennial celebration.

The Hannibal Courier-Post (http://bit.ly/Hs00gI ) reports that the Mark Twain statue that overlooks the Mississippi River in Riverview Park was erected by the state in 1913 to honor the hometown author.

Planning for the centennial celebration is in the early stages.

Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, spent his boyhood in Hannibal. He died in 1910, three years before the bronze statue was erected in his honor.

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Information from: Hannibal Courier-Post, http://www.hannibal.net