BY THE NUMBERS

By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!

Crawfordsville’s favorite son – Gen. Lew Wallace – passed away on Feb. 15, 1905. In honor of the date, The Paper takes a look at the author of one of the best-selling books of all time, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. By many accounts, it is one of the best sellers in history.

50,000,000

Not that many books throughout history have sold more than 50 million copies, but Wallace’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ has.

5

The number of movies of Ben Hur. The first came in 1907 and was followed by other version in 1925, 1959, 2003 and 2016.

$600,000

Henry Wallace, son of Lew, opposed any sale of the film rights to his father’s literary masterpiece. However, after he watched Birth of A Nation, he changed his mind. He set an initial price tag of $1,000,000 in 1915 – and in 1921 he sold the rights for $600,000.

1

The number of Gen. Lew Wallace studies and museums in the world – and it’s located right here off beautiful downtown Crawfordsville. For anyone who has not been there, it is well worth the visit. You can see the study where Wallace wrote much of Ben Hur. You can tour the spacious grounds and ponder perhaps what the general himself pondered. And of course there is a Carriage House and gift shop to visit. But don’t get in a rush. A lot of work is ongoing right now and when it’s complete, the museum will reopen – likely this spring.

4-10-1827

The birth date of Gen. Lew Wallace.  He was born in Brookville in the southeastern part of Indiana.  In 1832, his family moved to Covington. In 1837, his father David became the sixth governor of Indiana and in 1853 Lew moved to Crawfordsville. Three years later he was elected to the State Senate. Wallace died in Crawfordsville in 1905.

1

There is one marble statue of Lew Wallace in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. It is in Statuary Hall. A copy of this statue can be found on the Study grounds.

7-9-1864

Wallace was not just an author. As a major general, Wallace was given great credit for saving Washington, D.C. during the Battle of Monocacy. It was on that date that Wallace’s troops delayed Confederate forces sent to capture the nation’s capital. Later, Ulysses S. Grant said that Wallace’s work at Monocacy was “a greater benefit to the cause than often falls to the lot of a commander of equal force to render by means of a victory.”

$7 to free

Admission prices to the Museum and Study range from $7 for adults to $5 for AAA or military, $3 for students 13-18 with IDs, $1 for students 7-12 with ID and free for the little ones 6 and under. What a deal!