General Lew Wallace Study
| General Lew Wallace Study | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark | |||
| Historic District Contributing Property | |||
 Gene. Lew Wallace Study |
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| location | Crawfordsville , Montgomery County , Indiana | ||
| Coordinates | 40 ° 2 '26 " N , 86 ° 53' 40" W | ||
| Built | 1895-98 | ||
| architect | Lew Wallace | ||
| NRHP number | 76000013 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | May 11, 1976 | ||
| Declared as an NHL | May 11, 1976 | ||
| Declared as CP | March 25, 1992 | ||
Gene. Lew Wallace Study , also known as the Ben-Hur Museum, is a structure in Crawfordsville that Lew Wallace had built as a study. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976 and listed as a monument on the National Register of Historic Places . General Lew Wallace Study has also been a Contributing Property of the Elston Grove Historic District since 1992 . The building is closely linked to Wallace and the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which he wrote, and was designed by himself. Together with the adjoining coach house, it forms the only structures formerly owned by Wallace that have been able to retain their historical integrity.
history
Lew Wallace served in the Union Army in the Civil War . He took part in the battles of Fort Donelson , Shiloh and Monocacy and was the head of Union Army operations in Indiana when Confederate General John Hunt Morgan invaded the state during Morgan's raid in July 1863 . After the war he was a member of the commission that searched for accomplices of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln and was involved in the short process that led to the execution of Henry Wirz for the killing of Union soldiers in the Andersonville prison camp . In 1880 he published the book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ , a novel that was set in the Roman Empire at the time of Christ ; the book initially sold poorly, but eventually became a bestseller.
It is said that Wallace built the study because he wanted a retreat for his soul that was disconnected from the world and its worries. Wallace died on his estate on February 15, 1905. After his death, his heirs allowed the building to be viewed. The town of Crawfordsville became the owner of the property in 1941 after a citizens' initiative bought it and donated it to the town.
The other structures on the property were largely demolished, only the dining room, living room and the central hall remained when a modern style ranch house was built on the property. This structure is not a contributory part of the National Historic Landmark classification.
After the city acquired the building, it became known as the Ben-Hur Museum ; however, the official name is Lew Wallace Study & Museum . Many of the books Wallace acquired during his life are still in this study. Items on display include Wallace's military uniforms, musical instruments, a fishing rod he designed, and a portrait painting of the daughter of a Turkish sultan that Wallace received in 1885.
architecture
The construction of the workspace took three years, from 1895 to 1898, and cost 25,000-30,000 US dollars at the time . Wallace designed the eclectic structure with influences from Byzantine , Greek and Romanesque architectural styles. The building is one-story and made of garnet-colored bricks. It is nine meters high and consists of a main wing and one of the semicircular wings at the rear. There is also a 12 m high tower with a dome-shaped skylight. The basement is fully developed, the building stands on a limestone base . Three novels that Wallace wrote are taken up in the frieze as characters from them are depicted.
swell
- George R. Adams, Ralph Christian: Wallace, Gen. Lew, Study NRHP Nomination Form . (PDF) In: American Association for State and Local History . 1975.
- Dick Wolfsie: Indiana Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, and Other Offbeat Stuff ( English ). Globe Pequot, 2006, ISBN 0762741139 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Wallace, Gen. Lew, Study in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 18, 2017.
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Indiana. National Park Service , accessed July 22, 2019.
- ↑ a b General Lew Wallace Study ( English ) In: National Historic Landmark summary listing . National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
- ^ Elston Grove Historic District on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 18, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Adams section 7, p. 1
- ^ Adams section 8. pp. 1, 5
- ↑ a b Wolfsie p. 288
- ^ Adams section 8, p. 6
- ^ Adams section 7, p. 2
