Over the years, there have been questions as to whether or not Lew Wallace and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) ever crossed paths. There is anecdotal information that perhaps they did, but no clear and definitive proof. In 2002, a message was left on our museum answering machine from a fellow […]
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Memorial Day is a federal holiday throughout the United States that honors the men and women who died while in military service. For years, the holiday has been observed on the last Monday in May. Many older people remember this holiday as Decoration Day, which was established in the years […]
The Humorist from Hell – Ted Shane 101 years ago, the 1925 epic film version of Ben-Hur was released by MGM. It received almost universal applause—almost. It was the most expensive silent movie ever made with sequences filmed overseas and in the United States. It cost a reported $5,000,000. Upon its release, […]
The citizens of Crawfordsville have been fighting fire for almost 200 years—both professionally and with volunteers. After Lew Wallace completed his service on the military tribunals that handled the Lincoln conspirators and Commander Wirz in 1865, he headed south to Mexico. He had been in Mexico just prior to the […]
Edward Allen Hannegan was one of the most prominent and charismatic politicians in Indiana from the 1830s through the 1850s. He was born in Hamilton County, Ohio in 1807 and moved to Bourbon County, Kentucky as an infant with his family. He was admitted to the bar in 1827 after […]
In honor of the MotoCross of Nations race in Crawfordsville this weekend, we thought it appropriate to note that Lew Wallace may be given credit for the first motorized race in Crawfordsville, between him and his new car—it was a race he lost. For all of the research that has […]
There is a saying that behind every great man is a great woman. Lew Wallace would likely agree wholeheartedly with that statement. Even as a young man, before he was aware of Susan Elston, he pondered how his life would play out. Ever the romantic, Lew wrote: “I have always […]
The play Ben-Hur opened on Broadway in 1899. The first male lead was an actor named Edward Morgan and Messala was first portrayed by William S. Hart. Lew Wallace attended the opening night performance at the Broadway Theater and, like the rest of the audience, was pleased with the dramatic presentation of […]
On Thursday, August 29, 1895, The Daily Journal in Crawfordsville ran the following notice: To Contractors. The brick masons of the city are requested to call at my house and inspect specifications for the basement of a structure, with a view to bidding for same. Lew Wallace. A few days later on […]
Writing from Constantinople to his wife Susan in 1885 about his homecoming plans, Lew Wallace said, “I am not to be driven to the law again, that most detestable of human occupations. I look for better employment.” In his mature years Wallace made it abundantly clear that his employment as attorney […]