Ovilla, Texas
| Ovilla, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Location of Ovilla, Texas |
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| Coordinates: 32°31′54″N 96°53′29″W / 32.53167°N 96.89139°WCoordinates: 32°31′54″N 96°53′29″W / 32.53167°N 96.89139°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Ellis, Dallas |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.7 sq mi (14.8 km2) |
| • Land | 5.7 sq mi (14.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 610 ft (186 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 3,492 |
| • Density | 610/sq mi (240/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 75154 |
| Area code(s) | 972 |
| FIPS code | 48-54444 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1343373 |
Ovilla is a city in Dallas and Ellis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 3,492 at the 2010 census. The two L's are pronounced as a double L (as in village). It is pronounced like "Oh"-"ville"-"uh".
Ovilla, on upper Red Oak Creek in northern Ellis County, is the oldest town in the county. It began in 1844 as a fortified settlement known as McNamara's to repel Indian incursions. James McNamara arrived in 1843 with his new wife, Joanna (Hale) McNamara as the first Peters Colony settlers of this area for which they received 640 acres that made up the beginning of the locale that was later to be called 'Shiloh' for a nearby creek and a newly formed church. The McNamaras arrived with other Peters colonists: the Billingsleys; Mrs. McNamara's family, the McCommas's; and James Sterrett(Mrs. McNamara's brother-in-law who established the locale of Sterrett, Texas). The marriage of James Sterrett to Clarinda (Hale) Squires of 7 Jul 1844 was the first marriage to be performed here within the future boundaries of Ellis County which was still within old Robertson County at the time. James McNamara served as sergeant in Smith's Company of Texas Mounted Volunteers during the War with Mexico in 1846-1847 along with his brother-in-law, James Sterrett. The little ville grew as other Peters Colony settlers arrived in the area to attend brush arbor meetings of the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which was started by Rev. Finis E. King in 1847. James McNamara died in New Orleans 5 May 1852, and his widow liquified his assets and left Texas for the gold fields in Tuolumne County, California with all of her remaining maternal family members.
The church met in a brush arbor until 1853, when a log cabin, which served as both church and schoolhouse, was built. A frame church building was finished in 1872; in 1984 about 190 members still met in the structure, which had been enlarged and remodeled. The church was instrumental in moving Trinity University to Waxahachie in 1902 and in establishing a girls' school in the nearby town of Milford.
Although Ovilla was a thriving farming community by the 1850s, it remained unnamed. Mrs. M. M. Molloy, wife of Rev. D. G. Molloy, formed the name from the Spanish word villa. Ovilla continued to grow and by the early 1900s had a post office, a bank, a cotton gin, a pharmacy, a blacksmith shop, and several dry-goods stores. Its post office closed in 1906. Fires in 1918 and 1926 destroyed most of the downtown buildings, and this destruction, together with the fact that Ovilla was bypassed by railroads and major highways, led to a decline in growth.
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