Wallace, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wallace
|
|
|---|---|
Location in Calaveras County and the state of California
|
|
 Wallace, California
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Calaveras |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.413 sq mi (11.429 km2) |
| • Land | 4.333 sq mi (11.223 km2) |
| • Water | 0.080 sq mi (0.206 km2) 1.8% |
| Elevation | 194 ft (59 m) |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 479 |
| • Density | 108.54/sq mi (41.91/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
95254
|
| Area code(s) | 209 |
| FIPS code | 06-83304 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1660118, 2409523 |
Wallace is a small community in Calaveras County, California. It is located on the far western edge of the county, right on State Route 12. A "census-designated place" (CDP) means it's a community that the government counts for population, but it's not officially a city or town with its own local government.
In 2010, Wallace had 403 people living there. This was a big jump from the year 2000, when only 220 people lived in the area. By 2020, the population grew even more to 479 people.
The Name of Wallace
Have you ever wondered how places get their names? For a long time, people thought Wallace was named after John Herbert Wallace. He was a surveyor, someone who measures land and maps out areas. His name was on the town's map from 1883.
However, a historian named Sal Manna found out something different. In 2006, he wrote that the town was actually named after John Herbert Wallace's father, also named John Wallace. The elder John Wallace was a famous engineer and surveyor in the area. He even became the official surveyor for San Joaquin County.
Interestingly, John Wallace was also the older brother of Alfred Russel Wallace. Alfred Russel Wallace was a very important British scientist in the 1800s. He developed a theory about how living things change over time, called natural selection. He came up with this idea around the same time as Charles Darwin, another famous scientist. John Wallace first came to California during the California Gold Rush, hoping to find gold, but he didn't become a rich miner.
Where is Wallace?
Wallace is located in California. The United States Census Bureau says that the total area of Wallace is about 4.4 square miles (11.4 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 98.2%, is land. The rest, about 1.8%, is water.
A Brief History
The community of Wallace has had a post office for a long time. It first opened in 1883. Then, it closed for a while in 1945. But don't worry, it reopened in 1951 and has been serving the community ever since!
Who Lives in Wallace?
The population of Wallace has grown over the years. In 2010, there were 403 people. Most of the people living in Wallace were White (86.1%). There were also smaller numbers of African American, Native American, Asian, and Pacific Islander residents. About 7.9% of the people identified as Hispanic or Latino.
In 2010, all 403 people lived in homes, not in group living situations. There were 154 households in total. Many of these were married couples living together. Some households had children under 18. The average number of people living in each home was about 2.6.
The people in Wallace are of different ages. In 2010, about 20% of the population was under 18 years old. Another 20% was 65 years or older. The median age was about 47.8 years old, meaning half the people were younger than 47.8 and half were older.
Most homes in Wallace are owned by the people who live in them. About 85% of the homes were owner-occupied in 2010, while about 15% were rented.
See also
In Spanish: Wallace (California) para niños
