Wallace county, which contains the cities of Sharon Springs and Wallace, was named for For Fort Wallace, which was
 named for General William H. L. Wallace of Civil War fame (Illinois general, not to be confused with L. E. W. Wallace
 of Indiana). In was first organized on August 25, 1868, but when it was discovered the county did not have the required
 population, the governor ordered it dissolved in 1879. The county was reorganized on January 5, 1889. The founders were
 Charles Westerberg; Andrew Okeson; Joe Capper; Charles Mather; George Alloman; J. B. Spurlock; and Addie Starkey.

 The establishment of Fort Wallace and its operation from 1865 to 1882 offered protection to the early settlers of the county
 and provided many services. The Union Pacific Railroad arrived in 1868 and was building across the county for two years,
 bringing people and money to the area. The Smoky Basin Cave-In in 1926 was an unusual subsidence in the county that
 drew thousands of people and many scientists to the area. President Theodore Roosevelt spent a couple days in Sharon
 Springs in 1903 on his way to California.