Molly Brown Birthplace Msm

Molly Brown was on her way home to Hannibal when the Titanic sank. Learn more about this "Unsinkable" heroine of the Titanic. Visit the place where one of America's most fascinating rags-to-riches stories began. Just a few short blocks from downtown, see photo displays on her life in Hannibal, and the world, plus a room dedicated to the Titanic’s voyage. Built in the early 1860's by a Hannibal lumberman named Robards to sell to the ever-growing numbers of immigrants, the Molly Brown birthplace is a simple vernacular structure built on a hill above what was then Palmyra Road. The little structure, 16-foot by 30-foot was but a step above a pioneer's log cabin. The Hannibal house remained occupied into the 1950's. The Marion County Historical Society acquired the house in 1964 when Mr. & Mrs. Riney bought it at a tax sale, and donated it to the Society that began an extensive renovation. It literally was on the verge of collapse. It was saved from demolition and was open to the public for about 10 years. Between 1978 and 1998 the house was boarded up and slid into serious disrepair again. A community effort was launched to rehabilitate the house again. A hundred people, including high school students and the Hannibal mayor volunteered time to do carpentry, painting and garden work. A local hardware store donated paint. Other citizens contributed money to acquire period stoves for the kitchen and parlor. All the work was done in an astounding four months.