Editing Crawfordsville, Indiana (section)

===Late 19th century===
In 1862, Joseph F. Tuttle, after whom Tuttle Grade School was named in 1906 and Tuttle Junior High School (now Crawfordsville Middle School) was named in 1960, became president of Wabash College and served for 30 years. "He was an eloquent preacher, a sound administrator and an astute handler of public relations." Tuttle, together with his administrators, worked to improve relations in Crawfordsville between "Town and Gown".<ref name="Gronert"/>

Several future and past Civil War generals lived in Crawfordsville at different times. Generals [[Lew Wallace]] and [[Mahlon Dickerson Manson|Mahlon D. Manson]] spent most of their lives in the town. Generals [[Edward Canby]] and [[John Parker Hawkins|John P. Hawkins]] spent some of their youth in Crawfordsville. General [[Henry B. Carrington]] lived in the town after the war and taught military science at Wabash College. Several other future generals were students at Wabash before the war, including [[Joseph J. Reynolds]], [[John C. Black]] (brevet brigadier), [[Speed S. Fry]], [[Charles Cruft (general)|Charles Cruft]], and William H. Morgan.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/PhotoFullSize.asp?PhotoID=213794] Historical Marker Database image of plaque on Wabash College campus</ref>

In 1880, prominent local citizen [[Lew Wallace]] produced Crawfordsville's most famous literary work, ''[[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ]]'', a historical novel dealing with the beginnings of Christianity in the Mediterranean world. In addition to Wallace, Crawfordsville lived up to its nickname "The Athens of Indiana" by being the hometown of a number of authors, including [[Maurice Thompson]], [[Mary Hannah Krout]], [[Caroline Virginia Krout]], [[Susan Wallace]], Will H. Thompson, and [[Meredith Nicholson]].

Hoosiers have long believed that the first basketball game in Indiana occurred on March 16, 1894, at the Crawfordsville YMCA between the teams from Crawfordsville's and Lafayette's YMCAs. Recent research, however, conclusively shows that while Crawfordsville was among the first dozen or so Indiana communities to adopt the sport, it was not the first place basketball was played in Indiana.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2015/01/indiana-magazine-of-history-december-2014.shtml|title="Indiana Magazine of History looks for the origins of Hoosier basketball"}}</ref> Nevertheless, Crawfordsville had a vibrant basketball playing culture from early on with teams from the local YMCA, Wabash College, Crawfordsville High School, and a business college competing against each other. Crawfordsville was also the site for one of the earliest intercollegiate basketball games, between Wabash College and Purdue University, in 1894 at the city's YMCA.

In 1882, one of the first [[Rotary Jail|rotary jail]]s in the country opened. It served from 1882 until 1972. The [[Montgomery County Jail and Sheriff's Residence]] is now a museum and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].