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| (Courtesy George Washington Carver National Monument) |
Born into slavery and orphaned as an infant, George Washington Carver was raised by his former owners after slavery was abolished. He taught sustainable farming techniques to African-Americans and joined Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute, becoming its agriculture director. Only a reconstructed foundation marks the location of his birth cabin at the George Washington Carver National Monument, but the 1881 house where he spent his childhood is still standing. A new visitors center opening this month will display some of his paintings and letters, along with a plant specimen from his collection. 5646 Carver Rd., 417/325-4151, nps.gov/gwca, free.
MARK TWAIN, Hannibal, Mo.
A onetime riverboat pilot, silver prospector, and journalist, Mark Twain (born Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was one of the most celebrated personalities of the 19th century. Tours of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum include a gallery with his writing desk, his typewriter, and one of his iconic white suit coats, along with 15 original Norman Rockwell paintings that were used to illustrate special editions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Also on the tour route: the homes of Twain's childhood friends who inspired the characters Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn. 208 Hill St., 573/221-9010, marktwainmuseum.org, $8.
