Wallace Hall was built in 1907 to replace the 1863 Old Main, which was destroyed in a fire. It is the centerpiece of the campus buildings facing Broadway, framed by the sidewalks through the traditional grove of trees.
At the time Wallace Hall was built, almost ninety years ago, the future of Monmouth College was yet insecure. There were a number of small colleges locally (it was said, only half in jest, that it was a poor town that didn't have a poor college). Most of them went under within a few years. In contrast, the building of Wallace Hall showed that Monmouth College had the alumni and town support necessary to survive and thrive. The next year McMichael Academic was begun east of Wallace Hall, to complete the line of buildings on the edge of the bluff that started with the Carnegie Library on the west.
Today Wallace Hall has modern classrooms and offices to complement the attractive historic furnishings.