Ellis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, its population was estimated to be 192,455. The county seat 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. Ellis County is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Ellis County comprises 939 square miles of the Blackland Prairie. Away from the streams it is almost treeless except for scattered mesquite, cacti, and shrubs. Native vegetation consists mainly of bunch and short grasses, including Indian, buffalo, grama, big and little bluestems, and three-awn. Such native trees as ash, cottonwood, pecan, hackberry, bois d'arc, oak, and elm grow along watercourses. The area lies in a southeastward-sloping plain and is well drained by many streams that flow into the Trinity River, which forms the eastern boundary of the county. Red Oak, Waxahachie, Mill, and Chambers creeks drain most of the county. The soils—predominantly calcareous, marly and variegated clays and clay loams—have average to good moisture retention and are underlain by a water supply sufficient for livestock, irrigation, and domestic purposes. The alluvial soils are mainly clay. Mineral resources include gas, oil, stone, and clays valuable for brickmaking.
