general lew wallace study and museum

We just visited this weekend. I was VERY impressed with the General himself but the site and the guides were awful. The study itself is a jumbled mess of stuff thrown together. (For example, the original costume, worn by Charlton Heston in Ben Hur, was dusty in a corner of a storage room. The guide volunteered nothing but looking bored and would answer questions only if asked. At one point, she volunteered, "Oh yeah, the General was pretty full of himself, thought he was "all that".

We live in Crawfordsville and enjoy taking family to visit the Lew Wallace Study and Museum when they visit. The grounds are a great place to simply sit in the shade of the trees and enjoy a nice quite day. The information on Lew Wallace is very interesting and walking into his study is like walking back in time - really neat!

Only rotating feature in the US. A must see! Located in downtown Crawfordsville. Staff are excellent at demonstrating the rotating structure to get to each cell

Visiting the Lew Wallace Study is informative and interesting about the life of a man who accomplished a great deal in his life, as a lawyer, general during the Civil war, a territorial governor of New Mexico, an ambassador to Turkey who became friends with the Sultan, an author of several books including Ben Hur, an artist , and an inventor. His study, that he designed as a pleasure place for the soul, is a wonder to visit. The last Saturday in August the "Taste of Montgomery County" takes place on the grounds of the Lew Wallace Study with food and entertainment. Since I live in Crawfordsville, I visit often.

All six of us had a wonderful visit to the Study. We learned so much from the 10 minute video then the remarkable study itself. Every corner of it had some interesting fact and beautiful artifact. From the architecture to the paintings and collections of Gen. Wallace, there was a story to everything. We had just seen Ben Hur (both silent and 1959 movies) several months ago and to think it was written right on the spot. It's an amazing small museum and fascinating bit of history that was well worth the drive; the town is also interesting with the circular jail and beautiful Wabash College. But the Study took the prize for an interesting visit. The grounds were beautifully done on top of it all. A must-see!

Lew Wallace was an amazing guy, and his study is AWESOME!! You can see where he wrote most of Ben Hur the greatest book of the 19th century.

I recently attended a conference on writing books and one of the nationally known authors speaking at the conference commented on a handful of writers who had a great impact on the United States. I was surprised that General Lew Wallace was one of the authors he named, for his work, Ben Hur. He noted its importance as a fiction piece with a Christian theme that helped turn the moral climate of its time. I never knew how popular the book was, nor its impact, so I purposed to visit the site when I returned to Indiana.

The grounds are beautiful and the brick wall all around it! You can see where Lew Wallace wrote the book BEN HUR!

The Lew Wallace Museum is very interesting, comprising a small museum and gift shop, and the Study Wallace had built to work and retire to next to his home. The introductory video is a bit dated, but interesting, and the artifacts on display at both locations are well worth the visit. I was fascinated by the musical history, learning that Lew and his wife Susan were both musicians, with Susan's guitar (an old Martin?) and some of the fiddles Lew was in the process of making (he played as well) were on display. Well worth the extra 20 minutes of driving off the interstate!

This has been restored since we last visited in September 2008, but even then it had a fascinating collection of Lew Wallace materials. In addition to writing Ben Hur, he was a Civil War general, diplomat, and inventor ... and designed the study himself. Any history buff will enjoy it.

General Lew Wallace is probably most famous for having written the novel Ben Hur, but few people realize he also saved the Union during the Civil War. If not for his actions at the battle of Monocacy, the Confederacy might have taken Washington.Wallace was also governor of New Mexico Territory and the US Ambassador to Turkey, so you'll find more than just Civil War history here. The staff are knowledgable and very friendly. The study also hosts great events such as the Civil War Encampment, a great (if small) reenactment, and archaeology field days.

Visited here a month ago for the first time....and it's only 45 minutes from home. Who knew there was so much history in Montgomery County? Tour guide was excellent and made the story of General Wallace come to life. This is a great experience!

Good staff, good interpretation. Plenty of time to visit the study and to see what Lew Wallace was up to. Interpretive Museu;m had good video also. I recommend it highly if you come to Crawfordsville, Indiana

The site is very interesting and Lew Wallace was a fascinating man. Our tour guide was incredible. He was very knowledgable and obviously in love with his work. He spent over a hour with us talking at lib at depth about Lew Wallace, his family and his times.

My wife and I usually travel to Indianapolis 3 or 4 times a year to enjoy the Children's Museum with our two daughters. Besides the Children's Museum, we usually take a side trip to look at other attractions. This trip we traveled to Crawfordsville to visit the Lew Wallace study and museum. WHAT A GREAT FIND! We thought we would only spend an hour there and ended up spending two. The staff was informative and intriguing. If you want to take a day trip or plan on travelling through Indiana, The Wallace Study and Museum is a must. Take a picnic. The grounds at the Study/museum are great for a family outing.