General Lew Wallace Study and Museum

10/15/2026

Come out and see our Lew Wallace scarecrow!

📚🏛️ GO Explore History at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum!

Locals and visitors are invited to discover one of Crawfordsville’s historic treasures—the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum!

Explore the incredible personal Study of Lew Wallace, Crawfordsville resident, Civil War general, diplomat, artist, and author of the famous novel Ben-Hur. Visitors can tour the Study, see original artifacts, and stroll the beautiful grounds.

📍 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville

Whether you’re a history lover or simply looking for something unique to experience, GO discover the story of Lew Wallace right here in Montgomery County!

Scarecrow #14 on the Downtown Scarecrow Showdown Trail.

10/10/2026

We are thinning some of the gardens and have a number of Iris rhizomes avaiable, mixed colors. FOR FREE! Stop by the Carriage House and grab a few.

10/09/2026

On October 9, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of World War I, First Lieutenant William Noble "Tee" Wallace—grandson of General Lew Wallace—was engaged in a critical mission to map out the enemy position on the front lines. While he successfully completed the task, Tee was killed on the return trip across the open terrain of Blanc Mont Ridge where he was exposed to enemy shellfire.

For his service, Wallace was posthumously awarded the American Field Service Medal with a letter from the French Ministry of War. He received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. William Noble Wallace is now buried in Oak Hill Cemetery with the rest of his family.

William Noble "Tee" Wallace's exemplary life of service to our country is prominently displayed in our 2026 Exhibit "Wallace Family: A Legacy of Service." The exhibit will be open through December 11th.

10/08/2026

Two weeks until our final lecture of 2026! Come on out and learn from one of Indiana's great historians about the life of Ernie Pyle.

10/07/2026

A very happy 177th birthday to the Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley. If you get a chance, visit our friends at the James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home and the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home

Photo credit: Crawfordsville District Public Library

10/05/2026

In 1840, when Lew Wallace was just 13, his father, David, sent him to school in Centerville, Indiana, because of Professor Samuel K. Hoshour's great reputation as an educator. Hoshour became one of the earliest people to recognize Wallace’s potential as a writer. In his Autobiography, Wallace recalled that Hoshour “was the first to observe a glimmer of writing capacity in me,” giving him lessons on composition, English, and style, as well as lectures on rhetoric drawn from John Quincy Adams.

Wallace went on to write that Hoshour gave him the New Testament and said, “There, read that! It is the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. " Lew continued, "This was entirely new to me and I recall the impression made by the small part given to the three wise men. Little did I dream then what those few verses were to bring me—that out of them Ben-Hur, was one day to be evoked.”

Hoshour continued his career in education, eventually joining the faculty of Northwestern Christian University, now Butler University, in Indianapolis. He became the university’s president in 1858 and later served as Indiana’s State Superintendent of Education. When Hoshour died in 1883, he left behind a distinguished career as an educator. But his influence on one particular student would live on in the pages of one of the most famous novels in American literature.

10/03/2026

It is almost basketball season. Here in Indiana, that is a big deal!

Do we think the Ben-Hurs have a chance this year? 🏀

10/01/2026

“All the success that has come to me, all that I am, in fact, is owing to her…” — Lew Wallace

, October 1, 1907, Susan Wallace passed away at the age of 76. Apart from her husbands literary success, Susan was a talented and prolific writer in her own right. She published six books, along with numerous poems, short stories, and song lyrics. She also completed her husband’s autobiography in collaboration with fellow Crawfordsville author Mary Hannah Krout.

Susan’s influence extended beyond her own writing. She regularly read Lew’s work, offered suggestions, and helped shape his writing through her editing and advice.
Her name may not be as familiar as her husband’s, but Susan’s voice and influence were an essential part of one of Indiana’s most remarkable literary partnerships.

09/30/2026

🌳 New trees are taking root at the Study Grounds!

After losing a couple of trees this year, we decided it was time to add three new to the grounds: a Serviceberry, Pin Oak, and Black Gum.

The Pin Oak will replace the large one that fell earlier this year, while the Serviceberry will provide sweet berries for our feathered visitors to enjoy. We are also looking forward to seeing the Black Gum put on a spectacular display of color every autumn! Thank you to our friends at Progreen Garden Center for the help planting.

We’re excited to watch these trees grow and become part of the Study Grounds for years to come. If you’d like to help us keep the Study Grounds beautiful, consider contributing to our Adopt-A-Spot program. Your support helps us care for this special place!

👉 https://www.ben-hur.com/adopt-a-spot/

09/29/2026

After a six day journey from Indianapolis, the last two of which covered 130 miles by buckboard, newly appointed territorial Governor Lew Wallace arrived in Santa Fe September 29, 1878. Upon arrival, he took up a room at the LaFonda hotel across from El Palacio de los Gobernadores. In describing the Governors Palace, the oldest public building in the United States, Wallace wrote,

"Everybody has heard of the Old Palace in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A rambling, one-story adobe structure, with walls in places six feet thick... The walls were grimy, the undressed boards of the floor rested flat upon the ground; the cedar rafters, rain stained... and overweighted by tons and tons of mud composing the roof... Nevertheless, in that cavernous chamber I wrote the eighth and last book of Ben-Hur. My custom when night came was to lock the doors and bolt the windows of the office proper, and with a student's lamp, bury myself on the four soundless walls of the forbidden annex...,there, at my rough pine table, the Count of Monte Cristo in his dungeon of stone was not more lost to the world."