Ennis Commercial Historic District

Downtown Ennis, Texas, is a 13-acre commercial district of one- to three-story brick buildings laid out on a grid planned by Houston and Texas Central Railroad engineer Theo Kosse. After a fire in 1875, the business area was rebuilt on the west side of the tracks, and later construction was almost entirely brick. Brick streets and reddish brick sidewalk pavers add to the unified look. The district grew with the railroad, which established the town in 1871 and moved its northern division headquarters there in 1891, and with expanding cotton production. Of 82 structures, 53 contribute to its historic character, most built between 1890 and the late 1920s. Many are plainly detailed, with stepped parapets and corbeled cornices, while nine are the work of local designer Hix McCanless, including the Knights of Pythias and Masonic buildings. Some structures lost upper stories or were covered with newer facades. It remains the town's primary commercial center.