In fact, a news sheet published at the time extolled the town's favorable prospects because "it is on the Mullan Road, which is the main emigrant road on the Bitter Root divide." Wallace believed in his new venture and invested money to build access roads, put up lot fences and make other improvements. By the spring of 1885, Placer Center had a grocery store and several other small businesses. Within a year or so, there was also a general store, a sawmill, hotel and more. Wallace and Richard Lockey bought "Sioux half-breed scrip" from a bank in Spokane, Washington to purchase an town site that would become the town of Wallace. Such scrip entitled the holder to "locate" (claim) unoccupied and unsurveyed public lands. Wallace's application for a land patent to secure title to the townsite was submitted to the General Land Office (GLO) in Coeur d'Alene on June 5, 1886. The GLO head office in Washington D. C. found that his scrip had been reported lost by its original holder. That original scrip had then been replaced and used to claim land, around six years earlier. For this reason, the GLO denied Wallace's application, in a letter dated February 3, 1887. Nevertheless, Col. Wallace and his Wallace Townsite Company continued to sell properties (lots) because the Coeur d'Alene land officer had advised them that they could do so. In fact, the officer said he would act as Wallace's attorney if a dispute arose. Neither the Company nor Col. Wallace informed potential or actual buyers that their patent on the townsite was uncertain. The settlement flourished, and by the fall of 1887 when its first school was opened, there were many saloons, one brewery, a large apartment building with a public hall, a hotel, and many stores and shops. On September 10, 1887, a narrow gauge rail line reached Wallace, leading to further growth. Within two years the railroad would offer regular scheduled service. On May 2, 1888, a group of citizens petitioned Shoshone County's county commissioners for the town's incorporation, now to be called "Wallace", after the Colonel. Wallace was appointed one of the five trustees of the new town. In November 1888, the townsite company engaged a Washington, D.C., attorney who specialized in contested public lands cases. The letter reporting this action does not say what event led to the move. However, it asserted that the original scrip