Ennis

Ennis is on the Southern Pacific Railroad and at the intersection of Interstate Highway 45, State highways 34, 75, and 287, and Farm roads 85, 879, 1183, 1722, and 3413, fourteen miles southeast of Waxahachie in southeastern Ellis County. Bardwell Lake, a popular recreational area, is less than a mile south of the city limits. The Houston and Texas Central Railway reached the area in 1871, and the community established there was named for an early railroad official, Col. Cornelius Ennis. The David Rose survey of 300 acres and the W. H. Bundy survey of 347 acres were purchased by the trustees of a land company in 1872. Capt. W. G. Veale selected the townsite in May, and Theo Kosse mapped it in August and laid out the streets and alleys. The first train ran through the community that year, on its way from Corsicana to Dallas. Citizens of Burnham, a small town to the south, responded violently to being bypassed and attacked the new community, killing one man and wounding several.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.