Wallace, Idaho

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Wallace is a historic city in northern Idaho and the county seat of Shoshone County^GR6 in the Silver Valley mining district. Wallace sits alongside the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River (and Interstate 90) and the town's population was 960 at the 2000 census. Wallace is the principal town of the Coeur d'Alene silver-mining district, which produced more silver than any other mining district in the United States. Burke-Canyon Road runs through historic mining communities — many of them now deserted — north and eastward toward the Montana border. The area periodically experienced open warfare between miners and mine owners.

In 1890 Shoshone County was the most populated county in the new state of Idaho, and Wallace was its largest city and the third largest in the state, with 2000 residents. The elevation is 2728 feet (831 m) above sea level.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Center of the Universe
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Wallace is located at 47°28′23″N, 115°55′30″W (47.472923, -115.924935)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 960 people, 427 households, and 237 families residing in the city. The population density was 426.0/km² (1,104.4/mi²). There were 587 housing units at an average density of 260.5/km² (675.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.90% White, 2.50% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.19% of the population.

There were 427 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,065, and the median income for a family was $33,472. Males had a median income of $25,288 versus $16,429 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,699. About 12.8% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Center of the Universe

On September 25, 2004 Wallace's Mayor Ron Garitone proclaimed Wallace to be the center of the Universe. Specifically, a sewer access cover was declared to be the precise location of the center of the Universe. A specially made manhole cover was made to mark the spot. It bears the words "Center of the Universe. Wallace, Idaho." This prompted British comedian and writer Danny Wallace to visit Wallace. He wrote about his visit in the book Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe, published in 2006.

[edit] Trivia

The 1997 film Dante's Peak was filmed in and around Wallace during the summer of 1996, with the large hill next to town digitally altered to look like a volcano. One scene shows Pierce Brosnan driving a pickup down Main Street to escape the volcanic eruption. you can also see a sign that says wallace in one of the scenes with the community standing around for the celebration. Many scenes take place in the historic downtown area, visible from the nearby Interstate 90. The 1980 epic Heaven's Gate also filmed several scenes in Wallace.
The last traffic light on an Interstate highway to be removed was on a stretch of I-90 in Wallace, on September 15, 1991.
Every building in downtown Wallace is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The fire-fighting tool called a Pulaski is widely credited to a forest ranger from Wallace, Ed Pulaski.
Actress Lana Turner was born in Wallace, as was politician Bill Thomas and football coach Mike Riley.