Jim Wallace was born in 1943. He was raised in the historic Between the Rivers town of Golden Pond. The aforementioned rivers were the Cumberland and the Tennessee. Wallace attended Golden Pond and Cadiz Grade Schools. He graduated from Trigg County High School in 1961. Wallace was an honor graduate. He made all state honorable mention in basketball his senior year. Wallace started on the high school baseball team as well. No one knew it at the time of his graduation but Jim Wallace would go on to be one of the most impactful and influential people in the history of Trigg County Schools.
After high school Wallace attended Murray State University where he earned a BS in Mathematics and Physical Education in1965. He added a Masters in Secondary Education in 1972 and his Rank I in Secondary Administration in 1981.
Jim began his teaching and coaching career at Trigg County High School in the fall of 1965. He held many jobs in the Trigg County School System for thirty five years including Math teacher, Head Boys and Girls Basketball Coach, Head Cross Country Coach, Head Baseball Coach and Head Girls Track Coach. Wallace coached the first boys Cross Country Regional Championship team in the fall of 1976. He coached the boys basketball team to the 2nd region championship in 1970. That team advanced to the final four of the Kentucky State Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. Wallace started the girls track program at Trigg County High in 1968. His teams won state championships in 1972 and 1974.
Wallace was selected to the “Court of Honor” by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches in 2012. He was inducted into the Kentucky Tract and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 1996. Wallace was inducted into the inaugural class of the Trigg County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Wallace also served in many administrative roles in the Trigg County School System. He served as High School Athletic Director, Middle School Principal, High School Assistant Principal, Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent.
From 1991 through 2000 Jim Wallace led the Trigg County School District through the state’s massive school reform act known as KERA (Kentucky School Reform Act).
Wallace was instrumental in the building of a new Trigg County Middle School during his tenure as superintendent.
Jim Wallace had a storied career in the education system and he also had a tremendous impact on the greater Trigg County community through his civic involvement and leadership.
Wallace served as a Deacon at Cadiz Baptist Church for decades. He also taught a Sunday school class at Shady Lawn Nursing Home for thirty years.
Wallace served on the Trigg County Economic Development Commission for twenty five plus years. He was an active member of Trigg County Rotary for thirty five years including two terms as president.
Wallace served on the Land Between the Lakes Association Board of Directors for many years. He was very active in the historical preservation of the Land Between Rivers through his work with the Trigg County Historical Society. He published a book entitled “Lest We Forget” which is about his hometown of Golden Pond and the land between the Rivers. It tells the story of the United States government seizing the peoples’ land through the process of eminent domain and turning their land into a National Recreation Area.
He has been a long time member of the Trigg County Historical & Preservation Society, Inc. and is vice president.
The Trigg County Fiscal Court appointed Jim Wallace “Trigg County Historian” in 2020.
