Founded :1870, Inc. :1896. Pop.: 1873, Elev.: 2120. In
Ellis County, in the
Northwest Region of the state and NW of
Hays City near
Cedar Bluff State Park and the
Smoky Hill River.. I-70 runs east-west midway through the county. Use Exit #145 to enter Ellis. Initially a water station on the old Kansas Pacific Railroad, and became a town in 1870. Ellis was a shipping point for cattle herds, driven up from the south, for nearly five years.
While small and somewhat remote, significant American history spawned here; Wyatt Earp and Buffalo Bill Cody were seen often in town. The electric streetcar was invented here in 1882. The Cross brothers developed a process, to convert low grade, oil based fuels into gasoline. Walter P. Chrysler, who grew up in Ellis used his mechanical knowledge to found the automotive giant, the Chrysler Corporation. Walt Disney, the late producer-animator and founder of the Walt Disney Studios, also had connections to Ellis. There are 3 museums, a shady park and a 9-hole golf course.
