On September 28, 1874, a local family deeded approximately 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land to four trustees for the establishment of a town and railway station.

[5] Judge Justus Wesley Ferris of Waxahachie handled the transaction, and the community was named for him.

Within ten years, Ferris had a population of 300 with a post office, gristmills, cotton gins, four churches, and a school.

[5] The results were verified by the Ellis County Judge on September 30, and Ferris officially became a town.

[6] Fifty businesses, including six brick plants that benefitted from the area's mineral rich soil, were operating in 1914.

The population rose to 1,586 by 1925 but declined during the 1930s and 1940s as a result of the Great Depression and World War II.

[7] The expansion of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metropolitan Area and the construction of Interstate 45 aided the growth of Ferris in the latter half of the twentieth century.

[20] Ferris Red Oak Muni Heliport (FAA LID: 12T) is a city-owned public heliport in Ellis County, Texas, United States, serving the cities of Ferris and Red Oak.