Some eight years of renovation work on Hannibal’s Becky Thatcher House is celebrated with a ribbon cutting and open house Tuesday afternoon.

There will be a private showing of the home at 4 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at 5:30 and a public open house with free tours until 7 p.m.

The home on Hill Street was acquired by the Mark Twain Museum in 2001. After the structure was stabilized and upgraded, work began on turning the home into a museum dedicated to childhood in the 1800s.

The home was opened three years ago with temporary exhibits, but they were replaced with permanent exhibits over Labor Day weekend.

What is known now as the Becky Thatcher House was the home of the family of Laura Hawkins, the childhood friend of Sam Clemens, and was the girl upon whom he based the character of Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

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