General Lew Wallace Study - Today

Today

When the city of Crawfordsville acquired the structure, it became known as the Ben-Hur Museum; it is officially called the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum. It still exhibits many of the 1,200 books Wallace owned. The furniture in the study is original, including the chair that Wallace used when writing his masterwork, Ben-Hur (which he completed long before building the study). Among the other artifacts in the collection are his military uniforms, artwork, musical instruments, and the fishing rod he invented. Art includes the portrait of the daughter of the sultan of Turkey, which he gave to Wallace in 1885. The annual exhibits in the Carriage House Interpretive Center highlight different facets of Wallace as a Renaissance man; previous exhibits include Collective Influence: The Wallace Women, Lew Wallace - Gentleman Scientist, and Embattled: General Wallace's Leadership in the Civil War. The 3.5 acres (14,000 m2) of land on which the study sits is a public park, and many use it as a place to picnic, walk dogs, and take family photographs amid the flower beds. In recent years it has seen increased use from geo-cachers searching for a cache on site.

Guided tours of the study are available for a small admission fee; the Carriage House Interpretive Center and grounds are open to the public free of charge.