Ennis is a city in Ellis County, Texas and a southeastern suburb of Dallas. The population was 18,513 at the 2010 census.
In 1871, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad (H&TC) purchased 647 acres of land in Ellis County at a price of $5.00 per acre, establishing the line’s northern terminus. On May 8, 1872, this site was established as the City of Ennis.
The namesake of the town was Cornelius Ennis, an early official of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. Ennis served as Mayor of Houston (1856–57), and as a director of the Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway and Houston and Texas Central Railway.