In 1887 the City of Ennis was established at this site, the northern terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad (later part of the Southern Pacific Railroad). The city is named after early railroad official Cornelius Ennis. Expansion by the railroad at this location in 1891 spurred decades of agricultural, commercial, and industrial growth. Completion of lakes for the railroad's use and the construction of shops, a roundhouse, and offices earned Ennis renown as the junction of railroads and cotton fields. The lakes and several railroad buildings remain.