From a previous volunteer: “I remember that spot up there looked a little shaky back then. There was damage from the leaks, and the plaster around the skylight would flake off.” Thankfully, the Study Restoration Project seems to have fixed that issue!
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Overheard from a young visitor: “I remember the bright orange carpet. And that there used to be a lot more stuff in here.” Hang on, Josie. Just a few more weeks and then we plan to move artifacts back into the Study! (The carpet’s gone for good, though.)
Today the Museum is participating in International Museum Day with free admission. The theme is Museums and REmembrance, and our visitors are talking up a storm about what they remember from their previous visits! This was overheard from a former teacher during a tour: “Didn’t there used to be a […]
The grounds of the Museum are bursting with plant life and color. Wildflower walks provided visitors with the rust-colored blooms of prairie trillium, pale blue blooms of wild hyacinth, along with bright yellow ragwort. The magnolia trees bloomed for just a short period of time, not liking the 30 degree […]
Lew Wallace created many things during his lifetime, from art to inventions to his Study. Many consider writing to be his greatest achievement, especially since he described in his autobiography that he hated school and frequently skipped class. Well, perhaps he should have applied himself to a few more vocabulary […]
At almost four million dollars, the 1925 silent film of Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur is the most expensive silent movie ever made. Expenses for the movie began in 1919, with MGM’s initial negotiations with Henry Wallace. They also had to negotiate with Abraham Erlanger, producer of the successful stage play. Eventually, […]
During a visit today from Nicholson Elementary second-graders, we showed a few artifacts relating to Lew Wallace’s occupation as an author. One object was a notebook Wallace used to jot notes, keep accounts, and draft correspondence. Below we have included images and transcriptions as we read them (General Wallace’s handwriting […]
Josiah K. Lilly, Sr., was a generation younger than Lew Wallace. Despite that, the two men shared a great friendship. Josiah’s father, Eli Lilly, served as a colonel in the Civil War and founder of the pharmaceutical company. Josiah received his college diploma in pharmacy in 1882. In the fall […]
Ahhh, the joys of Spring. Green grass, flowering trees, blooming tulips, daffodils and dreaded storms! Overnight the entire Montgomery County area was hit by a series of fast moving storms. The first wave brought straight line winds, hail and moderate rain. The second wave, in the early morning hours, brought […]
As a couple, Lew and Susan had a long and loving relationship. Married over 50 years, they had both a public and a private partnership that worked very well. In public, Lew acted as the leading partner, as might be expected in a Victorian marriage. In private, Major General Lew […]