President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Lew Wallace as Governor of New Mexico Territory in September 1878. He arrived in Santa Fe on September 30. Susan and their 25-year-old son Henry arrived in New Mexico in early February 1879. Rail Travel to New Mexico Susan later wrote about her trip to […]
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We often see comments online about Lew Wallace betraying William Bonney–Billy the Kid. The situation really wasn’t as clear-cut as that. Corrupt officials and the Lincoln County War complicated Lew’s relationship with Billy. In September 1878, President Hayes appointed Lew Wallace Governor of New Mexico Territory. Lew spent four days […]
Lew Wallace spent the Christmas holidays in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1876. He wasn’t there to enjoy the sunshine and orange groves—rather, he was there as a “visiting statesman” for the Republican Party in the fallout of one of the most contested Presidential elections in history. It was, in fact, even […]
James Whitcomb Riley was born in 1849 in Greenfield, Indiana, to Reubin A. and Elizabeth Riley. Like Lew, Riley disliked school but loved to read; he left school at age sixteen. He read law with his father for a time, but apparently had little inclination or talent for it, and […]
The 2019 exhibit “From Crawfordsville to Constantinople: Traveling with the Wallaces” opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 9 in the Carriage House Interpretive Center at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum. The exhibit discusses the many locations in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa the Wallaces visited. When […]
Although Susan Wallace traveled with her husband Lew quite a bit, she didn’t always enjoy the experience.
We are pleased to announce the completion of an extensive oil painting restoration project! Grant Funding In 2017, we successfully secured two grants for the restoration of oil paintings owned by the museum. A priority assessment was funded by the Indiana Historical Society and made possible by the Lilly Endowment, […]
With an exploration of “Redeeming Messala,” Dr. Howard Miller, professor emeritus from the University of Texas at Austin, joined us for one more lecture in 2018. Ben-Hur Adaptations It’s possible that more adaptions of Ben-Hur have appeared in the past thirty years than in the previous eighty. And their variety […]
Dr. Thomas Slater of Indiana University of Pennsylvania spoke last night about June Mathis and her involvement with the 1925 silent film of Ben-Hur. Dr. Slater discussed June Mathis’ life and glass-ceiling-breaking career in Hollywood. In addition, he focused on Mathis’ script for Ben-Hur, which ultimately was not used. Dr. Slater […]
MGM’s 1959 Ben-Hur has been called “the most honored film of all time.” The winner of an unprecedented eleven Academy Awards, director William Wyler’s epic won virtually every international “best picture” award, was seen by millions around the globe, and earned MGM tens of millions of dollars. On Thursday, July […]