Ellis County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. As of 2020, its population was estimated to be 192,455. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Waxahachie. The county was founded in 1849 and organized the next year. It is named for Richard Ellis, president of the convention that produced the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was forma ...

. Ellis County is included in the

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

–

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

– Arlington

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (1.7%) are covered by water. Lake Waxahachie is located about five miles south of Waxahachie in Ellis County, Texas. Owned and operated by Ellis County Water Control and Improvement District Number One on behalf of the city of Waxahachie, the lake was formed by impounding the Waxahachie Creek in 1956. The water covers about 650 acres and has a maximum depth around 50. The former community of South Prong was located beside the creek before the lake was created. There has been a country club and a two-acre public park with boat ramp since the lake was completed. The lake is a recreational resource for the entire county.

Major highways

Interstate 35E * I-45 (TX)

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

U.S. Route 67 * US 77

U.S. 77 *

U.S. 287 * Texas 34

State Highway 34 * Texas 342

State Highway 342

Adjacent counties

* Dallas County (north) * Kaufman County (northeast) * Henderson County (east) * Navarro County (southeast) * Hill County (southwest) * Johnson County (west) * Tarrant County (northwest)

Communities

Ellis County, TX Courts building IMG 5610

Cities (multiple counties)

Cedar Hill Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

(mostly in Dallas County) * Ferris (small part in Dallas County) * Glenn Heights (partly in Dallas County) *

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it ...

(mostly in Dallas and Tarrant Counties) *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

(mostly in Tarrant County and a small part in Johnson County) * Ovilla (small part in Dallas County)

Cities

* Bardwell *

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

* Maypearl *

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

* Oak Leaf * Pecan Hill * Red Oak * Waxahachie (county seat)

Towns

* Alma * Garrett *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

* Milford * Palmer *

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

(mostly in Johnson County)

Census-designated place

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

Unincorporated communities

* Auburn *

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

* Crisp * Forreston *

Ike Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname * ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

* Rankin * Rockett * Telico * Trumbull

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' According to the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, 111,360 people, 37,020 households, and 29,653 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 118 people per square mile (46/km²). The 39,071 housing units averaged 42 per square mile (16/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 80.63% White, 8.64% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 7.92% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. About 18.42% of the population was Hispanic or Latinos of any race. By 2020, its population increased to 192,455. The racial makeup in 2020 was 55.34% non-Hispanic white, 12.33% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.79% Asian American, 0.41% some other race, 3.62% multiracial, and 27.04% Hispanic or Latino of any race. A

Williams Institute The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, usually shortened to Williams Institute, is a public policy research institute based at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender ident ...

analysis of 2010 census data found about 3.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households were in the county.

Politics

Ellis is a staunchly Republican county in presidential elections. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the county was

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

in 1976, and since

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, Republican presidential candidates have won with more than 66% of the vote.

Law enforcement

The Ellis County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services to the county. The current

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

is Brad Norman. The agency also operates the Ellis County Jail in Waxahachie.

Media

Ellis County is part of the

television media market in North Texas. Stations in the market are KDFW-TV,

KXAS-TV KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, broadcasting NBC programming to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongs ...

, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV,

KTXA-TV KTXA (channel 21) is an independent television station in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside Fort Worth–based CBS station KTVT (channel 11). Bo ...

KDFI-TV KDFI (channel 27), branded on-air as Fox 4 More or More 27, is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting MyNetworkTV to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations along ...

KDAF-TV KDAF (channel 33) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex with programming from The CW. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group (based in nearb ...

KFWD-TV KFWD, virtual channel 52 (VHF digital channel 9), is a ShopHQ- affiliated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned by Rye Brook, New York-based WRNN-T ...

, and KDTX-TV. The county is home to one local radio station KBEC 1390 AM and 99.1 FM. The station has been in continuous operation since 1955 and is the oldest Family owned radio station in Texas. A weekly newspaper, the ''Ellis County Press'', is based in Ferris and published Thursdays. The ''

Waxahachie Daily Light The Waxahachie Daily Light is a newspaper serving Ellis County, Texas. Its daily circulation is 2,300. History The Waxahachie Daily Light started publishing in 1867 and it is the only paper serving Ellis County that started before 1900 and is s ...

'' and ''Waxahachie Sun'' are published biweekly; other weekly newspapers are ''The Ennis News'' and ''Midlothian Mirror''.

Education

School districts include: *

Avalon Independent School District Avalon Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Avalon, Texas. The district operates one high school, Avalon High School. Finances As of the 2010–2011 school year, the appraised valuation of property ...

* Ennis Independent School District * Ferris Independent School District *

Frost Independent School District Frost Independent School District is a public school district based in Frost, Texas ( USA). In addition to Frost, the district serves the town of Mertens in Hill County as well as rural areas in western Navarro County. A small portion of so ...

Italy Independent School District Italy Independent School District is a public school district based in Italy, Texas ( USA). In the 2017–2018 school year the district had 628 students. History In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Educa ...

Maypearl Independent School District Maypearl Independent School District is a public school district based in Maypearl, Texas ( USA). Schools *Maypearl High School Maypearl High School is a public high school located in Maypearl, Texas ( USA) and classified as a 3A schoo ...

Midlothian Independent School District Midlothian Independent School District is a public school district based in Midlothian, Texas, United States. In addition to Midlothian, the district serves parts of Cedar Hill, Mansfield, Grand Prairie, Ovilla, and Venus as well as rural areas ...

* Milford Independent School District *

Palmer Independent School District Palmer Independent School District is a public school district based in Palmer, Texas (USA). In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of th ...

* Red Oak Independent School District * Waxahachie Independent School District It is in the service area of Navarro College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.189. NAVARRO COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
/ref>

Notable people

* Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde * J. D. Grey, clergyman, pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis, 1931–1934; later president of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), ...

, country singer and songwriter * Donnie Fleeman professional light-heavyweight boxer, only Ellis County native to fight 3 world champion heavyweights;

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson ...

Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. Known for his slick defense and precision, he is often considered the greatest light heavywei ...

, and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

(formerly Cassius Clay). 47 national/international fights in his professional career. 37 wins, 22 KOs. Won State Heavyweight Title (Golden Gloves) in 1953 - contender for National Heavyweight Title, but lost to Sonny Liston. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) was Fleeman's last professional fight, and took place in Miami, Florida, in 1961. This was Clay's 5th professional

ght. * Lecil Travis Martin, known more commonly as

Boxcar Willie Lecil Travis Martin (September 1, 1931 – April 12, 1999), whose stage name was Boxcar Willie, was an American country music singer-songwriter, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat. ...

, country singer and songwriter

References

External links

Ellis County government's website
*
''Memorial and biographical history of Ellis county, Texas ...''
published 1892, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

''The Texas spirit of '17: a pictorial and biographical record of the gallant and courageous men from Ellis County who served in the Great War''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1850 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1850