Lew Wallace was one of the more improbable figures of 19th-century American life: a Union general who served at Shiloh, the first governor of New Mexico Territory, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which was for decades the best-selling novel ever written in the United States. He lived in Crawfordsville most of his life, and his study — a fantastical Romanesque building he designed himself and spent a decade building — still stands next to his house on a quiet residential block.
The study is now a museum focused on Wallace's life and work, with his books, papers, and memorabilia. It is small but well-curated and gives a vivid picture of a Victorian man of extraordinary range. The building itself, with its beehive dome and ornate brick and stonework, is reason enough to stop.