Town of Ennis
Ennis, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded 1872 as market town on Houston & Texas Central Railway; Named for an H. & T.C. official, Cornelius Ennis (1813-1899). Cumberland Presbyterian built first church, 1872; First school session opened 1873. Chezchslovaks settled here 1874, adding a new segment to Anglo-French-Mexican-Texans employed in cattle and cotton economy. In 1892 banker Joseph Baldridge and associates secured H. & T.C. division shops for the town. In 1911 St. John's school was established here. In 20th century, local industry, recreation areas, and municipal services spur continuing growth.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ennis sprang up in 1872 as a market stop on the Houston & Texas Central Railway, named for a railroad official, and quickly gathered churches, schools, and a mixed population of Anglo, French, Mexican, and — after 1874 — Czech settlers working its cattle and cotton economy. A coup in 1892, when local backers won the railroad's division shops, secured the town's industrial future.
Why it matters
Ennis shows how the railroad and immigration together built the Texas cotton belt, drawing Czech and other newcomers who gave the town an enduring ethnic character.
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Related people
- · Cornelius Ennis
- · Joseph Baldridge
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Alexander Beaton
Corsicana, TX
A Scottish native, Alexander Beaton emigrated to the United States in 1843 and reached Texas in 1848 after serving in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War. Settling in Corsicana in 1850, he practiced law and, in 1871, chaired the finance committee that persuaded the Houston & Texas Central Railroad to route its line through town — an effort that earned him the street bearing his name. A Mason, Methodist, and amateur geologist, he raised a family there with his wife, Elizabeth Jane McKinney.
Railroads in Ennis
Ennis, TX
The Houston & Texas Central pushed its tracks past here in 1871, and in 1872 the town of Ennis was platted along the line and named for railroad official Cornelius Ennis. Local boosters won a division point with roundhouse, machine shops, and headquarters—on the promise that Ennis could always supply their water—while magnate Hetty Green's Texas Midland and a Dallas-to-Corsicana interurban later threaded the town. The interurban ran until 1941 and the last Texas Midland lines closed by 1975, leaving Union Pacific on the original route.
The Southern Pacific Railroad in Ennis
Ennis, TX
Ennis was founded in 1887 as the northern terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, later part of the Southern Pacific system, and named for railroad official Cornelius Ennis. A major expansion in 1891 brought shops, a roundhouse, offices, and reservoir lakes, fueling decades of growth. The town earned a reputation as the junction where railroads met cotton fields, and several of those railroad buildings and lakes survive.
The H.P. Barkley Home
Ennis, TX
Local contractor B. F. Sargeant built this Victorian residence in 1892 for H. P. Barkley, a conductor and yardmaster for the Houston and Central Texas Railroad, complete with elaborate gingerbread detailing. Businessman T. H. Floyd bought the house in 1905 and lived here until 1949, after which it served as a church parsonage.