Victor Wallace and his family immigrated to North Carolina from Hesse-Darmstadt in Germany just before the Civil War. Wallace worked for his brothers David and Isaac, who owned an herb business in Statesville, North Carolina. By 1870, Victor had moved to Salisbury, where he opened a small store of his own. He and his wife Fannie then had four children. His sons Jacob and Leo later joined the dry goods business, which was renamed V. Wallace and Sons.

While Victor seemed satisfied with the relatively small store, Leo and Jacob had larger ambitions, expanding the business, and establishing a wholesale operation in 1901. Due to the efforts of the two brothers, the business grew from annual sales of $5000 in 1885 to over $1 million by 1918. Their retail store became one of the largest operations in the southeast. Each week, wagons loaded with Wallace merchandise left Salisbury for towns across North Carolina. The brothers acquired a fleet of horses to pull their wagons.

Later, Jacob and Leo moved into the real estate business, buying a tall downtown building in 1914, which they renamed the Wallace Building. In 1926, the brothers closed their merchandise operation, focusing on their real estate business. The Wallace brothers owned and developed much of downtown Salisbury. Leo Wallace Jr. took over the business in 1935 after his father and uncle had died.