Celebrating a Century


Centennial Wrap-Up

One hundred years ago, the family of General Lew Wallace opened the doors of his magnificent Study to a curious public for the very first time. Known the world over as “The Home of Ben-Hur,” the Study has welcomed young and old, historians, tourists, schoolchildren and families for a century, witnessing the story of a man whose courage, creativity and determination helped to change a nation. With this year’s Centennial Celebration, held June 26-July 10, the community once again renewed General Wallace’s memory with a host of exciting and educational activities.



Members of the General Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society and honored guests were treated to a pre-Centennial party at the home of Nancy and David Orr on June 26. The Orr’s home at 514 East Wabash Street, just adjacent to the Study, was built for Lew and Susan Wallace in 1867 and was their home for over 35 years. Guests were able to view the three remaining rooms in the house that are original to General Wallace’s day, as well as share the excitement about the Centennial’s upcoming events, which were presented to the crowd by Museum Director Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko.

The Centennial Celebration officially kicked off on Sunday, June 27, with an Open House reception on the grounds. That Sunday also marked the beginning of 100 hours of free admission to the Museum, which helped to usher in record numbers of visitors.

The Montgomery County Cultural Foundation sponsored an Art Camp at the Old Jail Museum from June 27-July 1. Camp participants honed their artistic skills in the manner of General Wallace, taking part in workshops on graphic design, book illustration, and found-art sculpture. The campers also produced beautiful full-color Ben-Hur movie posters, which were highlighted at the special screenings of the 1925 and 1959 versions of the movie at the Vanity Theater.



Music flooded the grounds of the Study on July 2, the site of the first Lew Wallace Music Festival. The festival, sponsored by Chism Construction and the Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society, featured music from three genres that reflected the life of General Wallace—the Civil War, the Gilded Age (c. 1900) and Bluegrass. Live acts such as Bittersweet and Briers, the Athena Brass Quintet and the Montgomery County Civic Band entertained the crowds while volunteers from the Preservation Society and Delta Theta Tau sorority kept them fed and refreshed. The evening concluded with an open bluegrass jam featuring Clayton Peters, Archie Krout and Ed Bayless that kept the music playing even after the sun had set.

Education and exploration set the tone for the Centennial’s second week, as middle-schoolers from across the county gathered for the first annual Lew Wallace Youth Academy, an interactive day camp held July 5-9. Academy Director Stacy Klingler gathered a diverse and fascinating group of experts that led this year’s students into worlds of discovery akin to those explored by General Wallace six generations earlier.

Academy students were treated to an authentic graduation ceremony on July 9, with a baccalaureate address given by General Wallace himself (portrayed by re-enactor Phil McClure of the 11th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company D). This led into the final weekend of the Centennial, when re-enactors from the 11th Indiana and the 33rd Virginia (Co.A) Volunteer Infantries encamped on opposite sides of the grounds for two days of Civil War re-enactment. Visitors were able to witness activities like camp inspection, pay call, and the posting of colors, as well as peek into a fully stocked medical tent.



As the sun set on the evening of July 10 and the Centennial Celebration was brought to a close, it was clear to all who had attended or helped to host the weeks’ events that the spirit of General Wallace was indeed honored and celebrated in a manner befitting one of Indiana’s most beloved sons.

Academy Wrap-Up

The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum hosted the first annual Lew Wallace Youth Academy in July with great success. The Academy provided Montgomery County elementary and middle school students with the opportunity to participate in workshops designed to promote leadership, character, life-long learning, and learn more about Gen. Wallace. Participants were guided through an exploration of their own character and skills through activities that explored Gen. Wallace’s life.



Students explored the public and private writings of the Wallace family as a springboard toward understanding writing as a technique for self evaluation, historical documentation, and entertainment by Sharing Stories workshop leaders Helen Hudson and Joy Castro.

A day dedicated to Exploring Other Cultures through Lew’s travel experiences was kicked off by Rick Warner, Wabash College Professor of History. Rick used several excerpts from Lew Wallace’s writing about Mexico to describe the differences in culture that Wallace noticed, in addition to sharing Mexican food with the students. Joann Spragg and Sean Gerold further expanded the students’ culinary experience by guiding them through the production of their own tortillas and Mexican hot chocolate. Diana LaViolette served in the Peace Corps in Turkey and shared her observations of Turkish culture.



Pamela Denny-Rohrbach, professional plein-air artist and Indianapolis Public Schools Assistant Principal challenged students to try their hand at Creating Art. Students headed outside to create their own plein air old paintings of the study and grounds. Tracy Smoll, Sommer Elementary Art Teacher helped students develop a critical eye for art through explanations of line, form, composition, and color and facilitated students use of this new knowledge in critiquing each other’s work.

With the help of Gil Tobias of Akers & Associates, Summer Museum Intern Sean Gerold and Assistant Director Stacy Klingler exposed students to Gen. Wallace’s ingenuity by exploring his many inventions and unique solutions to daily life at the study. Jamey Norton, Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Humanities Program at Marian College explained how Gen. Wallace’s patented fishing poles solved many problems for fisherman of the day. Students also solved on of the Museum’s problems of determining the precise location of the reflecting pool with help from Jim Swift of Swift Surveys. Jim helped students map the location of the old reflecting pool using modern survey equipment and historical photographs.

After learning how Gen. Wallace served his country through his careers as a military officer and statesman, students listened to Lt. Bokmeyer of the Army National Guard spoke about life in the military as a way of Serving Others. Students were then challenged to serve others by becoming “Ambassadors of the Study” and creating their own tours of the Museum based on what they learned over the course of the Academy. Kat Burkhart, Assistant Director of the Montgomery County Historical Society, taught students the fundamentals of developing good museum tours.



The first graduating class of the General Lew Wallace Youth Academy was treated to words of wisdom from Gen. Wallace himself courtesy of re-enactor Phil McClure. Additional re-enactors from 11th Indiana Company D and the 33rd Virginia, Company A participated in ceremonies. Following the ceremonies, graduates gave their tours to families and sponsors. Graduates of the 2005 General Lew Wallace Youth Academy: Brendan Bratcher, Patrick Calhoun, Landon Carpenter, Joshua Gage, Rebekah Gage, Jacklin Hall, Alexa Hudson, Heather Kelly, Colby Light, Kendyl Pearson, Krista Ruby, Marlee Sills, Lydia Smith, Coleman Smoll, Dakota Smoll, Katie Stanley, Darren Stark, Susan Ward, Gabe Wilson, and Micah Wilson.

Many thanks to the following sponsors: America Legion Auxiliary (Robert Turner Post 427, New Ross), America Legion Byron Cox Post 72, Character Counts, Crawfordsville Kiwanis, Delta Theta Tau, Fraternal Aerie #1005 Fraternal Order of Eagles, Hoover Elementary PTO, Hose Elementary PTO, League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 6, Mercer Masonic Lodge 633 (Wingate), Montgomery County Heritage Alliance, Nicholson Elementary PTAB, Pleasant Hill PTO, Psi Iota Xi, Sommer Elementary and PTO, South Montgomery Jr. High School, and Sugar Creek Kiwanis.

Additional thanks go out to all our volunteers: Larry Bennett, Lt. Andrew Bokmeyer, Kat Burkhart, Joy Castro, Pamela Denny-Rohrbach, Sean Gerold, Johanna Herring, Helen Hudson, Dee Isenberg, Sharon Kenny, Stacy Klingler, Jamey Norton, Bob Olsen, Brittany Pittman, Anna Rogers, Tracy Smoll, Joann Spragg, Jim Swift, Gil Tobias, and Rick Warner.


Back to Top