[5] When it was first settled in 1831, Ulysses was named Lewisville after Orange Lewis, an early settler and prominent farmer who later became justice of the peace and county treasurer.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km2), all land.

The racial makeup of the borough was 98.68% White, 0.73% Native American, 0.15% Pacific Islander, and 0.44% from two or more races.

In the early 20th century, the Ku Klux Klan arrived, giving the town its continuing presence of white supremacists and national significance.

[10] The borough has caught media attention in recent years[10][11] for a local group's involvement in white supremacy and its practice of Odinism.

He organized the "World Aryan Congress" meeting of neo-Nazis, skinheads and Klan members held in the borough in the 2000s.

Six members of an Aryan Strike Force cell, who were arrested for plotting a suicide bombing of an "anti-racism" protest, had held weapons training in Ulysses in 2018.