Some fun facts and quick trivia about America's hometown.

Mark Twain's first job was as a typesetter for the Missouri Courier newspaper in Hannibal.

Hannibal's first inhabitant, as far as we know, were the Mound Builders whose mounds can still be seen in and near the city. Centuries later, the Missouri Indians lived here; the Sac and Fox Indians being the last to inhabit the area.

Hannibal got its name from Hannibal Creek, a name given to the present Bear Creek by Don Antonio Soulard, for the Spanish government. Hannibal, of course, was the name of an historic Carthagenian General.

Hannibal was founded in 1819 by Moses Bates. He platted the town for the Hannibal Company, which sold the lots at low prices. He and Jonathan Fleming built the first building in town, a log cabin, near the corner of North Main and Bird streets. Bates also owned the first steamboat in town, the General Putnam.

In 1830, the population was 30. When Hannibal became chartered as a city in 1845, James Brady became the first mayor, and the city grew to 2020 people by 1850.

The Early industries in Hannibal were pork packing, soap and candle making, coopering, milling of lumber, milling of grain, tanning and rope making. Flat boats laden with grain and hemp tied up the waterfront; livestock fattened in the back country were driven to Hannibal to market; logs were floated down from Wisconsin and Minnesota and converted into boards and sawmills flourished. Packet steamers arrived daily from St. Louis and Keokuk, Iowa.

In 1830, the first school was built on the city square. A year later, the first river ferry boat owned by Samuel Stone, was operating. Six years later in 1837, the first newspaper, the Commercial Advertiser, opened for business.

In 1866, the first high school was housed at the corner of Sixth and North streets; the house is still standing. The same year, the town built the state's first city-owned light and power plant.

The railway bridge was built in 1871 for the Norfolk and Western Railroad and was used for rail, pedestrian, wagon and later, car traffic. It was the second bridge to cross the Mississippi River touching Missouri shores. It was the only bridge at Hannibal until 1936, when President Roosevelt came to Hannibal to dedicate the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge for automobiles.

The first street car, a horse-drawn vehicle, makes its initial run in 1873. The electric powered street car didn't make its initial run until 1890.

The first telephone service began in 1879, the equipment being installed by Charles McDaniel, a pioneer in the field.

The city's water system, at first privately owned, dates back to 1879.

In 1889, the first tax-supported library in Missouri was established. On Feb. 15, 1902, the first Free Public Library west of the Mississippi River was dedicated in Hannibal. In 1909, local philanthropist W.B. Pettibone gave the city approximately 400 acres for Riverview Park.