Wallace

History

Jacksonville, one of Fountain County's early settlements, was established by John Bowman and his father Henry in the early 1830s on land situated just north of Mill Creek and was named for Andrew Jackson. The town's name in informal speech was often shortened to "Jackville". The first settler at the site was Richard Williams who erected a cabin as early as 1826, several years before the town was laid out, with the first house erected after Jacksonville's platting belonging to William Guilliams. By the 1880s, it contained about two dozen houses. Early tradesmen in Jacksonville included William Snooks, the township's first blacksmith, Samuel Glass who operated a house of entertainment, shoemaker Alvah Doke, cabinet-maker George McCline, physicians Dr. Reeves, Dr. A. M. C. Hawes and Dr. Joseph Roberts and various general storekeepers. An 1881 history offers the following description of the town's businesses: In comparatively recent times Noah and Charles Grimes, Bayless and Jacob Carter, — Cunningham & Smith, and several others, had stores. The present dealers are John Murphy, David Oliver, and Johnson Clore. Henry Newlin is selling drugs. His predecessor in this business was W. H. Spinning. A blacksmith and a chair shop are in this place, and a house which welcomes the hungry traveler and jaded animal with entertainment is also to be found. Somebody with business sagacity keeps constantly on hand a stock of coffins as a sign that there are two doctors in the village. The town gained a post office during the administration of Indiana Governor David Wallace, and was named by John Bowman and Judge Mitchell C. Black in the governor's honor. The town itself later assumed this name. Bowman was the office's first postmaster and Black the first mailcarrier.

Geography

Wallace is located adjacent to Mill Creek, which flows from the northeast and borders the town to the east and south. According to the 2010 census, Wallace has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  794
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  745
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  692
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  678
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  617
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  612
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  599
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  562

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2023-10-31
  7 km ESE of Linden, Indiana
• M 3.82 — 2021-06-17
  Illinois-Indiana border region