Founded as a mining town in 1884, Wallace became a railroad center in 1887 and the Shoshone County seat in 1898. Rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1890, Wallace has preserved its pioneer mining heritage. North Idaho's 2,000,000-acre forest fire was stopped here in 1910, and business buildings of that era survive in an impressive historic district. A museum in Wallace's restored 1901 Northern Pacific Depot, on 6th St., interprets the region's railway history.