General Lew Wallace Study facts for kids
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Gen. Lew Wallace Study
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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Gen. Lew Wallace Study
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 Location in Indiana
Location in the United States
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| Location | 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, Indiana, United States |
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| Built | 1895 |
| Architect | Wallace, Gen. Lew |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Other, Romanesque |
| Part of | Elston Grove Historic District (ID92000187) |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000013 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | May 11, 1976 |
| Designated NHL | May 11, 1976 |
| Designated CP | March 25, 1992 |
The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum is a cool place in Crawfordsville, Indiana. It used to be called the Ben-Hur Museum. It's a really important historical site, named a National Historic Landmark in 1976. In 2008, it even won a special award for museums! You can find it in the historic Elston Grove area.
This museum is all about Lew Wallace, a famous writer and soldier, and his super popular book, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The study building, which Wallace designed himself, and the old carriage house are the only original buildings left. These two buildings now make up the museum. They show off many things Wallace used and items connected to his famous books. You can take a guided tour of the study for a small fee. The Carriage House Interpretive Center and the museum grounds are free to visit.
Contents
Who Was Lew Wallace?
Lew Wallace is most famous for his military service and his novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. He was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He fought in important battles like the Battle of Fort Donelson and the Battle of Shiloh. He also helped protect Indiana during a Confederate invasion.
After the war, Wallace started writing seriously. He published his first novel in 1873. In 1880, he released Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. This book is set during the time of Jesus Christ in the Roman Empire. At first, it didn't sell well. But soon, it became the best-selling novel of the 1800s! It stayed number one until Gone with the Wind came out. Many people call it "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century." It has never stopped being printed and has been made into four movies.
Besides writing, Wallace was also a lawyer. He served as governor of the New Mexico Territory. He was also an ambassador to Turkey. He wrote seven books in total, including novels and biographies. He also enjoyed art, inventing, and music.
Why Did Wallace Build His Study?
Wallace wanted a special place just for his writing and thinking. He called it "a pleasure-house for my soul." He wanted it to be "a detached room away from the world and its worries." He died in his home on February 15, 1905. After he passed away, his family let people tour his study. In 1941, a local group bought the property and gave it to the city of Crawfordsville.
Wallace's main house was mostly taken down. Only a few rooms remain as part of a newer house. These parts are not included in the historic landmark status. The carriage house became the Carriage House Interpretive Center in 2006. It's now where visitors start their tour. This building used to be used by the Girl Scouts. Today, it has a gift shop, a video about Wallace, and storage for museum items. It also features a new exhibit each year.
Amazing Architecture of the Study
The study took three years to build, from 1895 to 1898. It cost a lot of money back then, about $25,000–$30,000. Wallace designed this unique building himself. It mixes styles from Byzantine, Greek, and Romanesque designs.
The building is one story tall and made of a beautiful garnet-colored brick. Its copper roof is shaped like a dome and is about 30 feet (9.1 m) high. A copper, glass, and steel cupola sits on top, protecting a large skylight over the main room. Local limestone from southern Indiana was used for the porches and outside decorations. A stone carving called a frieze goes around the top of the walls. It was carved by hand.
Faces carved into the frieze represent characters from Wallace's books. On the tower, you can see Princess Irene. On the back, there's the Prince of India. Both are from his book The Prince of India. To the east is Tirzah, Ben-Hur's sister. Over the entry is Judah Ben-Hur. Both are from Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
A small curved room at the back was for the building's mechanics. It had light switches and levers to open windows in the dome. The bricks in this curved room are specially shaped. The study also has a 40-foot (12 m) tall tower on its west side. This tower has Roman arches. It was used as a chimney and held a water tank for the original bathroom in the basement. You can see the full basement through round windows on the east side. It holds Wallace's workbench, where he created his nine inventions. The furnace that heated the building and the Wallaces’ carriage are also there. You can also see the strong steel beams and concrete that support the study.
Visiting the Museum Today
When Crawfordsville city took over the building, it was known as the Ben-Hur Museum. Its official name now is the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum. It still displays many of the 1,200 books Wallace owned. The furniture inside the study is original, including the chair Wallace used. (He finished Ben-Hur long before building this study!)
Other items in the collection include his military uniforms, artwork, and musical instruments. You can also see the fishing rod he invented. One special piece of art is a portrait of the daughter of the sultan of Turkey. The sultan gave it to Wallace in 1885. The annual exhibits in the Carriage House Interpretive Center show different sides of Wallace. Past exhibits have explored "The Wallace Women" and "General Wallace's Leadership in the Civil War."
The 3.5-acre (1.4 ha) land around the study is a public park. Many people use it for picnics, walking dogs, and taking family photos among the flower beds. In recent years, more people have visited for geo-caching, looking for a hidden cache on site.
Guided tours of the study are available for a small admission fee. The Carriage House Interpretive Center and the beautiful grounds are open to everyone for free.
