[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.

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] Long ago, Ellis (as well as Hays) was once a sundown town, where African Americans were not welcome after dark.

[1] Located in northwestern Kansas on Interstate 70, Ellis is 13 miles (21 km) west-northwest of Hays, the county seat.

[11] Ellis lies on the western edge of the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.

[12] 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.

[4][13] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.64 square miles (4.25 km2), all land.

[15] The 2020 United States census counted 1,958 people, 845 households, and 521 families in Ellis.

33.0% of households consisted of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

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 three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, and health care and social assistance (28.8%); retail trade (14.9%); and construction (11.3%).

[27] Ellis has a mayor-council form of government with a city council consisting of six members.

[10][35] The city government's Public Works department is responsible for sanitation, sewer maintenance, and water provision and distribution.

[37] Most residents use natural gas for heating fuel; service is provided by Midwest Energy, Inc.[28][37] The Ellis Review is the local newspaper, published weekly.

[39] Ellis is the site of Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home and Museum.