| Ellis, Kansas | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Location of Ellis, Kansas | |
| Detailed map of Ellis | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| County | Ellis |
| Founded | 1870 |
| Incorporated | 1888 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km2) |
| • Land | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,119 ft (646 m) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
| • Total | 2,062 |
| • Density | 1,718.3/sq mi (663.5/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 67637 |
| Area code(s) | 785 |
| FIPS code | 20-20450[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0475174[3] |
| Website | www.ellis.ks.us |
Ellis is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States.[3] As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,062.[1]
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The Kansas Pacific Railway built a water station at the site of present-day Ellis in 1867 and then purchased the site under the Homestead Act. Three years later, in 1870, the U.S. Post Office Department opened a post office at Ellis, marking the town's foundation.[4] Kansas Pacific laid out the town in 1873, establishing a depot, a hotel, and a few shops.[5] That same year, settlers from Syracuse, New York, and later from Louisville, Kentucky, arrived to work for the railroad.[6] The first church opened in Ellis in 1873, the first school in 1874. Starting in 1875 and for the rest of the 1870s, Ellis was a cowtown, serving as a shipping point for cattle herds from the south.[4] Bukovina Germans began settling in the area in 1886.[7] Ellis incorporated as a city in January 1888.[4]
Ellis is located at (38.936211, -99.559269),[8] at an elevation of 2,119 feet (646 m).[3] It lies on the western edge of the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.[9] Big Creek, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, runs east through the city and has been dammed to form a long, narrow reservoir, Big Creek Lake. Ellis is in northwestern Kansas on Interstate 70 roughly 13 miles (21 km) west-northwest of Hays, the county seat.[10] It is approximately 146 miles (235 km) northwest of Wichita and 260 miles (420 km) west of Kansas City.[11]
According to the United States Census Bureau, Ellis has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), all of it land.[12]
On average in Ellis, January is the coolest month, and July is both the warmest month and the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Ellis was 110 °F (43 °C) in 2003; the coldest temperature recorded was -24 °F (-31 °C) in 1989.[13]
| Climate data for Ellis, Kansas, USA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) |
84 (29) |
95 (35) |
103 (39) |
105 (41) |
109 (43) |
110 (43) |
110 (43) |
110 (43) |
102 (39) |
87 (31) |
79 (26) |
110 (43) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 42 (6) |
48 (9) |
57 (14) |
67 (19) |
76 (24) |
87 (31) |
93 (34) |
91 (33) |
83 (28) |
72 (22) |
55 (13) |
45 (7) |
68.0 (20.0) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 14 (−10) |
19 (−7) |
27 (−3) |
37 (3) |
48 (9) |
59 (15) |
64 (18) |
62 (17) |
53 (12) |
40 (4) |
26 (−3) |
18 (−8) |
38.9 (3.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −17 (−27) |
−20 (−29) |
−16 (−27) |
12 (−11) |
26 (−3) |
39 (4) |
45 (7) |
41 (5) |
26 (−3) |
12 (−11) |
−7 (−22) |
−24 (−31) |
−24 (−31) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.50 (12.7) |
0.60 (15.2) |
1.88 (47.8) |
2.03 (51.6) |
3.15 (80) |
3.00 (76.2) |
3.42 (86.9) |
2.97 (75.4) |
1.69 (42.9) |
1.25 (31.8) |
1.16 (29.5) |
0.59 (15) |
22.24 (564.9) |
| Source: The Weather Channel[13] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 120 |
|
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| 1880 | 689 | 474.2% | |
| 1890 | 1,107 | 60.7% | |
| 1900 | 932 | −15.8% | |
| 1910 | 1,404 | 50.6% | |
| 1920 | 1,876 | 33.6% | |
| 1930 | 1,957 | 4.3% | |
| 1940 | 2,042 | 4.3% | |
| 1950 | 2,649 | 29.7% | |
| 1960 | 2,218 | −16.3% | |
| 1970 | 2,137 | −3.7% | |
| 1980 | 2,062 | −3.5% | |
| 1990 | 1,814 | −12.0% | |
| 2000 | 1,873 | 3.3% | |
| 2010 | 2,062 | 10.1% | |
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As of the 2010 census, there were 2,062 people, 868 households, and 556 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,718.3 people per square mile (663.5/km²). There were 959 housing units at an average density of 799.2 per square mile (299.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.9% White, 0.2% African American, 1.0% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.0% of the population.[1]
There were 868 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32, and the average family size was 2.91.[1]
In the city, the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males age 18 and over.[1]
As of 2009, the median income for a household in the city was $41,133, and the median income for a family was $48,036. Males had a median income of $41,114 versus $23,333 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,908. About 6.8% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.[14]
Ellis has a mayor-council form of government with a city council consisting of six members. The mayor and all council members are elected for two-year terms.[15]
USD 388 provides public primary and secondary education with two schools in Ellis: Washington Grade School (Grades K-8) and Ellis High School (9-12).[16][17]
There is one Catholic school in Ellis, St. Mary's Catholic Grade School (Pre-K-6).[17][18]
Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40 run concurrently east-west immediately north of Ellis. K-247 runs north-south from I-70 to 3rd Street in northern Ellis.[10]
The Kansas Pacific (KP) line of the Union Pacific Railroad runs east-west through Ellis.[10][19]
Ellis has a weekly newspaper, The Ellis Review.[20]
Ellis is the site of Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home and Museum. Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler Corporation, grew up in Ellis. When he was 17, he began his career working in the railroad roundhouse, where he became a machinist's apprentice and developed his expertise for metal working and machinery.[21] In the summer of 1993, the Chrysler Corporation recognized Chrysler's hometown by sponsoring a parade and Chrysler festival, attended by several members of the Chrysler family. A prototype Dodge Viper was loaned to the museum for one year.
Founded in 1994, the Ellis Railroad Museum features items and photographs from Ellis's railroading past. A 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) model train exhibit is also on display. Outside the museum is a miniature railroad that runs on a one mile (1.6 km) loop track, called the BK&E Railroad.[22] This stands for the "Buddy King and Ellis Railroad", named for its primary donor the late Francis "Buddy" King, a former mayor of Ellis who died in office in 1994.
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