On the 1883 map of the town site is the name of the surveyor, John Herbert Wallace.

However, according to historian Sal Manna in the July 2006 issue of Las Calaveras, the quarterly magazine of the Calaveras County Historical Society, the town is named for John Herbert Wallace's father, John Wallace, who was a well-known engineer and surveyor in the area.

John Wallace was also an elder brother of Alfred Russel Wallace, a leading 19th century British naturalist who independently developed a theory of natural selection around the same time as Charles Darwin.

[1] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), of which, 98.2% is land and 1.8% is water.

[3] The 2010 United States Census[4] reported that Wallace had a population of 403.

24 households (15.6%) were made up of individuals, and 12 (7.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

11.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

In the state legislature, Wallace is in the 8th Senate District, represented by Democrat Angelique Ashby,[6] and the 5th Assembly District, represented by Republican Joe Patterson.

[7] Federally, Wallace is in California's 4th congressional district, represented by Democrat Mike Thompson.