It is home of the General Lew Wallace Study, now a museum, containing personal effects and mementos of the novelist and military leader. General Wallace wrote his famous Ben Hur in the heart of Crawfordsville. His personal library, the Ben Hur Museum, a National Historic Landmark is just a stones throw away from historic Lane Place, a totally restored 19th century antebellum home. Just a few blocks away stands the Old Jail Museum, featuring the world's only operating rotary jail cellblock, constructed in 1882 and listed on the National Register of Historic Preservation.
Outdoor recreation includes canoeing down the number one scenic stream in the state, Sugar Creek.
Rent a canoe at Clements within the city limits, choosing the trip length of your choice. Crawfordsville's history dates back to 1813 when three rangers, Williamson Dunn, Henry Ristine and Major Ambrose Whitlock noted it as an ideal spot for a settlement. Nearly 10 years later the three returned with their families. William Miller had already built the first cabin, locating it on the bluff along Sugar Creek. In the spring of 1823, Ristine built the second.