Robert,

I suggest you check out WHITE TOWN DROWSING: Journeys to Hannibal
(Atlantic Monthly Press, 1986) by Ron Powers (media critic for CBS
Sunday Morning) for an interesting look at the Hannibal of the past and
the present.  It might give you a sense of what the town is all about
and how the residents view Twain as both a blessing and a curse.
Henry Sweets receives well-deserved praise in the book.