General Lew Wallace Study & Museum

Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live
2022-09-17 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Museum Day is an annual celebration of boundless curiosity hosted by Smithsonian magazine. Participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide free entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket. Download ticket from the Event Website: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/museum-day-2022/

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series: The Collections of the Indiana Historical Society
2022-09-29 19:00 - 20:00 | St. John’s Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall, 212 S Green St, Crawfordsville, 47933
Suzanne Hahn, Vice President, Archives and Library at the Indiana Historical Society. Suzanne will speak on The Collections of the Indiana Historical Society. Since 1830, The Indiana Historical Society has been collecting and preserving Indiana’s unique stories; bringing Hoosiers together in remembering and sharing the past—Including Lew and Susan Wallace. Suzanne will discuss not only how the Society has grown and refined its collection but also new collecting initiatives that will inspire future Hoosiers.

Field Trip: Collections Tour at IHS
2022-09-30 13:00 - 14:30 | IN
Friday, September 30 – Behind the Scenes Tour – The Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis will offer a Behind the Scenes look at what they do. Spots will be limited and reservations required. Visit the event link to reserve a spot.
Please note the Museum will be CLOSED on September 30, as staff will be at the off-site event.

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series: Amalia Kussner, miniaturist
2022-10-06 19:00 - 20:00 | St. John’s Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall, 212 S Green St, Crawfordsville, 47933
Amalia was a miniature portrait artist and a “darling” of the Gilded Age – and became one of the most sought-after artists of that time. Her career would include painting many of those premier families and European and Russian royalty. With her adventurous spirit, she traveled during the Boer War in South Africa to paint Cecil Rhodes. In addition to her artistic talent, she was quite adept at marketing herself and commanding impressive commissions. Amalia was clearly a woman ahead of her time.
This presentation will cover the full story of her life, starting with her early years in Terre Haute, the incredible rise to fame in New York in the 1890s, and her final years in Europe after 1900. You will see images of a wide variety of her work, both from museums and a private collection.

Hoosier Authors Book Club: Always a River
2022-10-20 19:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
The book club will discuss Always a River: The Ohio River and the American Experience, edited by Robert Reid. The ever-changing Ohio River flows through time as well as space, connecting us with the past as it links Pittsburgh with Cincinnati, Cairo, and New Orleans. Always a River views the Ohio through the perspective of history, geography, political science, economics, and literature. Essays by Scott Russell Sanders, John A. Jakle, Hubert G. H. Wilhelm, Michael Allen, Darrel E. Bigham, Leland R. Johnson, and Boyd Keenan tell about the settlement period of the river, its economic importance, the different phases of engineering over a long period of time, and the river as an eco-political system.

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series: Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello
2022-10-27 19:00 - 20:00 | St. John’s Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall, 212 S Green St, Crawfordsville, 47933
Peter Hatch will present Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello. Hatch, Director of Gardens & Grounds Emeritus for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, was responsible for maintenance, interpretation, and restoration of the 2,400-acre landscape at Monticello from 1977 to 2012. Thomas Jefferson wrote that “the greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture,” and Monticello’s 1,000-foot-long, terraced vegetable garden became an experimental laboratory, an Ellis Island of new and unusual vegetable novelties from around the globe.
While growing over 330 vegetable and 170 fruit varieties, Jefferson was also a pioneer in supporting farmer’s markets and promoting vegetable cookery. This revolutionary garden resulted in a revolutionary cuisine in the kitchen at Monticello. Restored in 1984, the garden and the Jefferson legacy continue to inspire the farm to table movement today. As a tie to our theme for 2022, Peter will incorporate collecting issues at Monticello with stories of plants dying, seed collecting compromised by naughty harvesters, varieties not being true to name, and more. Free, reservations requested.

Hoosier Authors Book Club: All These Beautiful Strangers
2022-11-17 19:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
The book club will discuss the novel All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth. Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for. A tight knit family. A loyal set of friends. A fast-track to whichever college she chooses. But Charlie isn’t interested in what most people want. She’s a Calloway. She’s special. And she’s been taught to want more. So when she’s invited to join an exclusive secret society, her determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there. But behind their mysterious facade is a history of lies which unravels everything Charlie thought she knew…including the story behind her mother’s disappearance ten years ago.

Lew Wallace Hoosier Author Fair 2022
2022-11-26 17:00 - 20:00 | Fusion54, 101 W. Main, Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Our annual author fair is held at Fusion 54 on Small Business Saturday, in conjunction with Crawfordsville Main Street’s Downtown Party Night. Authors from Crawfordsville and around the state will have books and related merchandise for sale. They are happy to sign books and discuss writing with attendees.

Hoosier Authors Book Club
2023-04-20 19:00 - 20:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
A Hoosier Chronicle – Meredith Nicholson
See https://www.ben-hur.com/programs/hoosier-authors-book-club/ for more information

Hoosier Authors Book Club
2023-06-22 19:00 - 20:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Somebody’s Daughter – Ashley C. Ford
See https://www.ben-hur.com/programs/hoosier-authors-book-club/ for more information

Hoosier Authors Book Club
2023-07-20 19:00 - 20:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
See https://www.ben-hur.com/programs/hoosier-authors-book-club/ for more information

Hoosier Authors Book Club
2023-09-21 19:00 - 20:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
A Place Called Hope – Phillip Gulley
See https://www.ben-hur.com/programs/hoosier-authors-book-club/ for more information

Showing of 1925 Ben-Hur at Wabash College
2023-10-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Wabash College: Hays 104, 301 W Wabash Ave, Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
In concert with the Wabash College Classics Department, we will be showing the epic 1925 silent film version of Ben-Hur. While many of us remember the 1959 film version starring Charlton Heston, the 1925 movie with Ramon Navarro is a classic in its own right. In many ways, Navarro’s version revolutionized the movie industry in Southern California. Come see just what an epic film looks like! This event will be at Wabash College and is free of charge.

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series
2023-10-26 19:00 - 21:00 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Little Orphant Annie – Discovery, Preservation, and Restoration

Eric Grayson is a nationally renowned film preservation expert, specializing in silent movies. Eric will be presenting the 1918 original film of Little Orphant Annie. This unusual surviving film features a rare film appearance by James Whitcomb Riley – the Hoosier poet and close friend of Lew Wallace. Eric will discuss the films discovery, preservation and restoration.

Lew Wallace Hoosier Author Fair
2023-11-25 17:00 - 20:00 | Fusion54, 101 W. Main, Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series - Reconstructing Henry S. Lane: Redefining Political Legacy Amidst Reconstruction Ambiguity by Owen Bennett
2024-03-21 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum presents…
Reconstructing Henry S. Lane: Redefining Political Legacy Amidst Reconstruction Ambiguity.
Owen Bennett, Assistant Director of the Montgomery County Historical Society, will give a lecture on the vague and misleading historiography of Henry S. Lane’s role during the era of reconstruction following the Civil War. Lane’s active participation therein has been largely disregarded in previous narratives. Additionally, Owen will discuss the enduring political legacy of Lane and the policies he was involved in.

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series - The Man Who Saved Cincinnati by Peter Bronson
2024-04-25 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum presents…
The Man Who Saved Cincinnati
Peter Bronson is a newsman, editor, magazine writer and author. He has written eight books, including The Man Who Saved Cincinnati (2023), Not in Our Town (2022), and Forbidden Fruit (2020). He was an editor and columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer for nearly 20 years. Bronson will discuss Lew Wallace’s role in defending the Queen city against Confederate attack, the first African Americans employed in defense of the Union known as the Black Brigade, the Ohio Squirrel Hunter volunteers, and much more.

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series - The USCT from Montgomery County
2024-05-16 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Dr Howard Miller Lecture Series presents…The United States Colored Troops from Montgomery County by Shannon Sullivan Hudson. A science teacher by day and a history buff by night, Shannon Hudson is the author of Abolitionists of the Underground Railroad: Legends from Montgomery County, Indiana. Shannon will speak on the United States Colored Troops from Montgomery County, Indiana including who they were, where they served, and the lives they lived after the war.

Hoosier Authors Book Club - Hoosier Public Enemy
2024-06-20 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Hoosier Public Enemy: A Life of John Dillinger – John A. Beineke

See https://www.ben-hur.com/programs/hoosier-authors-book-club/ for more information

Hoosier Authors Book Club - You Should See Me in a Crown
2024-07-18 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
You Should See Me in a Crown – Leah Johnson
See https://www.ben-hur.com/programs/hoosier-authors-book-club/ for more information

Hoosier Authors Book Club - An Abundance of Katherines, John Green
2024-09-19 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Hoosier Authors Book Club – An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Hoosier Authors Book Club - The Magic Garden, Gene Stratton-Porter
2024-10-24 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
Hoosier Authors Book Club – The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton-Porter

Physical copies of The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton-Porter will not be available for loan. The kindle version of the book is available for .99c here.

Hoosier Author's Book Club - Hawaii and a Revolution by Mary Hannah Krout
2025-04-17 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
The Hoosier Authors Book Club for 2025 begins on Thursday, April 17 with Hawaii and a Revolution by Mary Hannah Krout. Krout, a native of Crawfordsville, details her personal experience as a journalist and correspondent for the Chicago Inter-Ocean covering the 1893 revolution in Hawaii.
The book is available for purchase here.
We hope you can join us!

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series - Ben-Hur Chariots by Dr. Bela Sandor
2025-05-08 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series - June Mathis: A Silent Film Visionary by Dr. Thomas J. Slater
2025-05-20 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States

Hoosier Authors Book Club - The Artist, Ladoga, Indiana by Kelly O'Dell Stanley
2025-05-22 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
On Thursday, May 22, the Hoosier Authors Book Club will meet to discuss Kelly O’Dell Stanley’s memoir The Artist, Ladoga, Indiana. In this memoir, the brushstrokes of the author’s father, Rob O’Dell, echo long after his passing in 2017. As Kelly moves into his restored turn-of-the-century building in a small Indiana town, she finds herself wandering the same roads he once traversed, enveloped by the vibrant landscapes he painted and the emotional landscapes of her own heart. In her quest to understand her father’s legacy, Kelly dives deep into his art, discovering that its true beauty lies not just in technique, but in the broken and the overlooked, reminding us of all the power of being seen and celebrated.

Hoosier Authors Book Club - The Port of Missing Men by Meredith Nicholson
2025-06-26 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
The third book club selection of the 2025 Hoosier Authors Book Club is Meredith Nicholson’s The Port of Missing Men and will meet on June 26. Published in 1907, the story is set in the early 1900s and follows the life of a wealthy young man named John Keith, who embarks on a sea voyage to the Philippines in search of adventure and romance. Things take a dark turn when Keith’s ship is wrecked on a deserted island, and he becomes stranded with a group of survivors. As they struggle to survive, Keith begins to uncover a sinister plot involving a group of missing men who were last seen in the same area. With the help of a beautiful young woman named Hope, Keith sets out to unravel the mystery and uncover the truth behind the missing men. The novel is a thrilling adventure story that explores themes of love, betrayal, and redemption. It also delves into the complexities of human nature and the lengths that people will go in order to achieve their goals. The Port of Missing Men is a classic tale of survival and intrigue that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.
The book is available for purchase here.

Hoosier Authors Book Club - "Some Memories of a Long Life" by Malvina Shanklin Harlan
2025-09-18 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
On Thursday, September 1, the Hoosier Authors Book Club will be reading Some Memories of a Long Life by Malvina Shanklin Harlan. Like Abigail Adams, Malvina Shanklin Harlan witnessed—and gently influenced—national history from the unique perspective of a political leader’s wife. Her husband, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan (1833–1911), played a central role in some of the most significant civil rights decisions of his era, including his lone dissenting opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, the infamous case that endorsed separate but equal segregation. And for fifty-seven years he was married to a woman who was busy making a mental record of their eventful lives.
After Justice Harlan’s death in 1911, Malvina wrote Some Memories of a Long Life, 1854–1911, as a testament to her husband’s accomplishments and to her own. The memoir begins with Malvina, the daughter of passionate abolitionists, becoming the teenage bride of John Marshall Harlan, whose family owned more than a dozen slaves. Malvina depicts her life in antebellum Kentucky, and her courageous defense of the Harlan homestead during the Civil War. She writes of her husband’s ascent in legal circles and his eventual appointment to the Supreme Court in 1877, where he was the author of opinions that continued to influence American race relations deep into the twentieth century. Yet Some Memories is more than a wife’s account of a famous and powerful man. It chronicles the remarkable evolution of a young woman from Indiana who became a keen observer of both her family’s life and that of her nation.
When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg began researching the history of the women associated with the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress sent her Malvina Harlan’s unpublished manuscript. Justice Ginsburg wrote the forward for this biography.

Hoosier Authors Book Club - "The Witchery of Archery" by Maurice Thompson
2025-10-23 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
The last book club selection for the year will be discussed on Thursday, October 23. It is The Witchery of Archery by Maurice Thompson. Written in 1878, this was the first book in English about hunting with bow and arrow ever published. Thompson was from Crawfordsville and one of Lew Wallace’s closest friends. It was the first important book about archery written in English since Toxophilus, which was written in 1545. It was said that Witchery “…has as much effect on archery as Uncle Tom’s Cabin had on the Civil War and it made Crawfordsville the worldwide center for archery for decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When Thompson wrote The Witchery of Archery, he filled it with various stories, many of which were humorous. However, it also gave practical advice on the sport, such as the manufacturing of archery paraphernalia and how to use the equipment while hunting. This is sure to be a different kind of read, written right here in Crawfordsville. A book that added to both our legacy as the Athens of Indiana and to Indiana during the Golden Age of Hoosier Authors.

Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series - "The Last Adieu" with Ryan L. Cole
2026-03-12 19:00 - 20:30 | General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, 200 Wallace Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933, United States
