You are currently standing before a statue of the namesake for Ellis County: Mr. Richard Ellis, one of the Founding Fathers of Texas. In the early days of the Texas Republic, which existed between independence from Mexico in 1836 and statehood in 1845, the area now comprising Ellis County was first inhabited by the Tonkawa, Anadarko, Bidai, Kickapoo, and Waco native tribes. The first Anglo settlers in the area arrived circa 1838 and built “Howe’s Settlement” near the site of present-day Red Oak.

     It was during this time that 25-year-old Emory W. Rogers, with his beloved wife Nancy and children, immigrated from Alabama to tend to the land of Mr. Richard Pryor near the site of present-day Milford, an area protected from Indian raiders and Mexican banditos by Fort Smith. By 1847, two years after Texas statehood, Rogers was finally able to obtain a headright of his own near Howe’s Settlement. He and his family built a log cabin along the creek there and provided lodging for passers-by as a source of income. It wasn’t long before additional families and businesses set up under Rogers’ patronage and formed into a town.

     The inhabitants of Rogers’ settlement named their new town after what the natives called it: “Buffalo Creek.” The native word for “buffalo” sounded like “waxa” to the Anglos, although this was likely a mishearing. Likewise, the native word for “creek” was “hachie,” and thus the town became known as “Waxahachie.” Originally part of Navarro County, named after Texas Revolution hero José Antonio Navarro, the residents of Waxahachie and surrounding communities petitioned the Legislature to form a separate county of their own, with Rogers vouching for his town to be chosen as the new county seat due to its central location within the proposed county’s boundaries. In December of 1849, these wishes were granted, with General Edward Tarrant – the namesake of Tarrant County – establishing the name of the new county as “Ellis” in honor of the late Texas Founding Father Richard Ellis, who had presided over the Texas Independence Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos in 1836.

     This statue of Richard Ellis was erected at the Centennial of Texas independence in 1936. On the ground to the left of the statue, you may see the top of a time capsule that was installed at the sesquicentennial in 1986, and which will be opened at the bicentennial in 2036.