Wallace was a native to Indiana who served as a United States General during the American Civil War, as the Governor of the New Mexico Territory, the Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and as the author of Ben Hur.

The campus was renovated as recently as 1972, an addition that included the Richard Polk Gymnasium.

The school offered community recreation programs on weekends.

[1] As of 2014, the school was formally known as Lew Wallace Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Academy.

[2] Athletic programs included baseball, basketball, football, and track.